Perceptions of Life
by einstinette
Summary: We all have our different ways that we think of life and how we experience it. Well, read to find out how Yusuke and friends view life, love and other things. Much better than it sounds. Read and Review. I know you'll love it.
1. Chapter 1

Perceptions of Life

Chapter 1

Prolouge

_Disclaimer:_

_I __**DO NOT**__ own Yuyu Hakusho.:( Sorry folks._

_**A/n:**_

_**Another Yuyu Hakusho fic. I hope that you really like it**__._

_Time Setting: _

_After the Dark Tournament, but before the Sensui episodes_.

Third Person POV:

"Stupid school. Stupid classes. Stupid projects," the resident bad boy of Seryashi Jr. High muttered has he stomped through the halls.

To look at Yusuke Urameshi is to see a punk. Perhaps it was his green jumpsuit when everyone else was wearing navy blue. Or perhaps it was his gelled black hair, bad attitude, and mischevious brown way, he was still a clearly marked juvenile delinqunet.

"Yusuke!" his long time best friend Keiko called.

The two had a very close relationship. Though most people would wonder why. Why would a beautiful honor student _**ever**_ consent to even talking to a delinquent? The answer was very clear. She didn't see him how everyone else saw him. She didn't see a punk or a bad boy. What she really saw was the real person, past the act to the man that he truly was.

Now, normally, Yusuke would have stopped for Keiko, but today he was too angry. He just...needed to get out now before he punched a wall... or someone's face.

"Yusuke, are you okay?" He just waved his hand to indicate that he would be. Eventually.

The other students scattered as the angry teen marched through. They were all sure that Yusuke had finally gone crazy and was going to kill them. So, they threw themselves agains the blue lockers and into the classrooms. Any other day he may have found it funny, but today he was not in the mood.

Finally Yusuke made it out tinto the glaring sunlight. He didn't hesitate as he left his least favorite place in the world. He had managed to not notice the frightened students. Or Principal Takenaka watching from his office and wonder what the teachers had done to make the boy so mad. He did _**not**_ envy the next person that Yusuke Uramehsi came into contact with while he was in this mood.

Yusuke now had a choice to make. He was standing at an intersection. He could turn left and go home or go spar with one of his friends. He thought for a moment and realized that home was the last place that he wanted to be. Last night, his mother had come home completley wasted. She had dragged herself through the door on the arm of some strange guy. Yusuke knew very well what was going on at home and wasn't in any hurry to return there.

Besides, he knew that he would end up slugging the guy. Especially if the asshole hurt his mom in any way.

He huffed and continued straight. He wasn't really paying attention to where his feet were going. They were moving of their own accord to a familiar place.

When Yusuke realized where he was going, he actually smiled a bit to himself and threw the door open. He walked in like he owned the place and went straight back into the room that was the farthest back. That door was closed too, so he swung it open so hard that it crashed against the wall.

"Geeze!" screamed the red-headed boy, jumping up from the bed.

"S'up Kuwabara," Yusuke grinned at the one person that could really cheer him up. Or at least blow off some of the steam.

Kazuma Kuwabara. He was Yusuke's best friend and second worst punk of Seryiaski Jr. High. He was taller than his friend by far and wore his red hair in the pompadour style. Just his face seemed threatening. Unless you were Yusuke. "Urameshi? Did you just bust into my house?" he demanded.

"Yep. And I'm just warning you. Today is not the day to piss me off."

"Don't start with me, Urameshi. You just broke into my house," the red-head yelled. Needless to say, he was angry. But goodness knows that he should be used to it by now. Not a day goes by when the smaller teen didn't invade his personal space.

"Yeah. So what?" Urameshi shrugged. He did it so much that it didn't even matter to him anymore. It was just common now.

Kuwabara felt the vien in his forehead jump. "You don't respect anybody's property, do you?"

Urameshi pretended to think about it for a second. "Nope. Not even a little bit," he grinned, absolutely meaning what he was saying. As always.

"You little punk," Kuwabara growled. "I'm gonna kick your butt."

Yusuke chuckled. This was what he had been waiting for. "Yeah right. Give me a minute and I'll kick your ass."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." This was what Yusuke had been waiting for. Something to take his edge off. Now was the time. Unfortunately, he'd probably have to break a few of Kuwabara's teeth. Ah well, it was a small price to pay for the restoration of his usual calm.

"Why you little..." And Kuwabara lunged to punch the smirk off of the black-haired man's face. Yusuke had expected this. Kuwabara was pitifully predictable in all of his endeavors. Yusuke dodged the blow easily and landed a few of his own.

The two scuffled on with Urameshi having the upper hand. Yusuke finally got tired and threw Kuwabara down on the bed, holding him with his knees. And of course, at that moment, the door swung open. A tall woman with brown hair and a cigarette between two fingers stood in the doorway.

"Not surprised," Shizuru Kuwabara said, taking a long drag from her cigarette.

The two boys whipped around, both realizing what sort of position that they were in. "It isn't what you think," Yusuke spluttered.

"Yeah right. I'm going to leave now," she chuckled. "Hey bro, the bottle's in my dresser." And with that, she slammed the door behind her.

"Get offa me, Urameshi," Kuwabara shouted, blushing profusely.

"Oh sorry." And Yusuke hopped off of him. He settled on his back on the bed with his arms propped under his head. Kuwabara was so embarrassed that he moved over to sit in the chair.

"Bottle? I know that it's not what I think it is," Urameshi snickered. There was no way that he could be right, right? Surely the manly Kazuma wouldn't have that...

"Yeah. It was a Christmas gag gift from Shizuru. Ya' know cuz before Yukina I never dated anyone." Urameshi resisted the urge to remind him that he still hadn't dated anyone and probably wouldn't in the near future.

"So, your sister bought you a bottle of lu-," Urameshi began.

"Shhh, don't say it out loud." Kuwabara looked around like there were eyes and ears in the walls that were waiting to tell the world about this. "Yeah, she bought it for me."

"Ha, I bet the old pickle got a good shining that night." Somtimes Yusuke could be so... immature. This was one of those times. He had to get a good joke in.

Kuwabara got even redder if that was possible. "No way man," the red-head grumbled.

"Whatever," the smaller man shrugged. He was a teenage guy and knew what happened when he got bored. Kuwabara may be self-righteous, but no one was that.. selfless. Ha, who knew what went on on a Friday night at the Kuwabara home. Chances are you didn't want to.

The burlier guy decided to just let it pass while he could. "So, what were you so mad about, anyway?"

Yusuke had forgotten aobut how mad he had been, but it all came rushing back then. "Miss Takenaka, that new English teacher. Ya' know her?"

"We have that class together, Urameshi. Of course I know her."

"Well, while you were out with the sniffels today, she gave us a freakin' project to do."

"It wasn't the sniffles. It was a stomach bug. And I'm feelin' better thanks for asking," he whined. "What's the project anyway?"

"We have to write our perceptions of life and why we think that," Yusuke huffed like it was pure murder. And in a way it really was.

"Huh?" Kuwabara asked, scratching his head.

"You know that whole 'life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get' thing."

Kuwabara was seriously wondering if that was it. It seemed pretty easy compared to some of their other things. "Seems pretty easy to me," he shrugged. "How many words does it have to be?"

"No limit."

"It seems easy. How much is it worth?" The crux of the problem. How much would it affect him, and would he actually do it?

"Three-fourths of this year's grade. Meaning that with it, I'll definitely pass and without it I'll definitely fail."

"Yeah, but what about our other classes?" Kuwabara had a point. Their grades in all of their other classes were borderline. Somewhere between failing and normal idiocy.

"That's the beauty of it. Takenaka's making sure that it's weighted into all of our other classes."

"Whooo-hoo!" Kazuma cheered. He was very excited about it, and was pretty surprised to see that Urameshi wasn't either. Goodness knows that both of them needed it. "Why aren't you excited?"

"Why wouldn't I be happy? I'm jumpin' for freakin' joy. Can't you tell?" he cheered sarcastically.

"Seriously man. What's eating you?"

Yusuke sighed. He was _**not **_good at talkinga bout how he felt. But on one hand, that had almost cost him his best friend's life in the Tournament. He had learned his lesson. For the moment anyway. "Takenaka wanted to talk to me 'after class'. And she basically told me a bunch of crap. She won't accept anything but the best from me. She knows what I'm going through and went through the same thing. I'm going to pass or she's going to kick my ass. Basically, the same shit every teacher says until they get bored with me."

Yusuke was used to this kind of 'do-goody' behavior. Every new teacher started out like that. They thought that they were going to be his 'miracle cure'. To set him straight. That was until they found out the truth. That he wasn't going to change.

"C'mon man. We've all been there. And maybe she's the real thing," Kazuma suggested. He liked Takenaka and her no-nonsense attitude. There was something... legitimate about it. About her.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Urameshi pouted. "I don't feel like talking about this shit anymore." And that's what Yusuke did. When he was upset and getting to the root of his emotions, he just checked out of the conversation. And everyone knew better than to try to get him out of his slump. It usually just ended in shouting and throwing someone against a wall.

"I'm comingin. You guys better not be doing anything," Shizuru called from outside fo the door. And then she just burst inside. "Good. I thought that I was going to have to bring in the cold water."

"Shut up Shizuru," Kuwabara blushed. One of Shizuru's brows raised. That's all that it took to shut _**him**_ up.

"Hey. I just came in to see if you're staying for dinner, Yusuke."

"Of course. S'not like I'm going home to mom's cooking," Urameshi chuckled.. "I don't even know why you ask anymore."

"True," she puffed on her cigarette. "Well, I guess I'd better go cook or something." She waved half-heartedly and walked back into the kitchen thinking that she should probably make Kazuma do this. Ah well, she was in a pretty good mood today, but he was cooking for the next month.

"I have an idea," Kuwabara announced.

"I'm listening. For the moment." And the moment is all that he could spare.

"Let's start writin' the papers."

"Do I have to?" Yusuke groaned.

"Unless you want to stay in Jr. High forever." And that was what really scared him up. He didn't want to be held back and be left behind.

"Fine," the black-haired teen huffed. He sat up on the bed and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He started by writing ideas, and scribbled them all out. In some places, he wrote so hard that his pen sunk through the page.

Kuwabara did the same and found it somewhat easier. Ideas just... came to him. Meanwhile, Urameshi was ripping yet another sheet to shreds. This was even harder than he had thought that it would be.

"Dinner time," Shizuru called. The boys ate quickly. Yusuke, surprisingly ate slower than usual, not wanting to go back to writing. But dinner couldn't last forever. They had made a pact, so when dinner was over, they were going to work full-force. And that was a promise. For one of them at least.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My fourth Yu yu Hakusho fanfiction! I hope that it was good. I hope you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	2. Kuwabara: Fighting on a Battlefield

Chapter 2

Kuwabara: Fighting on a Battlefield

_RECAP:_

_Kuwabara did the same and found it somewhat easier. Ideas just... came to him. Meanwhile, Urameshi was ripping yet another sheet to shreds. This was even harder than he had thought that it would be._

_ "Dinner time," Shizuru called. The boys ate quickly. Yusuke, surprisingly ate slower than usual, not wanting to go back to writing. But dinner couldn't last forever. They had made a pact, so when dinner was over, they were going to work full-force. And that was a promise. For one of them at least. _

Third Person POV:

After dinner the two boys went back into Kuwabara's room. Yusuke took his spot on the bed, and Kuwabara sat down at his desk.

Kuwabara got out a pen and piece of paper, and got back to work. Occasionally, he would glance around to see Urameshi glaring angrily at the paper as if it had seriously offended him. The larger man had to fight the urge to laugh and force himself back to work. Somehow, he actually managed to buckle down.

One hour, fifty-two minutes later and he was done. He read back over it and was satisfied. It was simple, short, and true. His paper read:

_Life is like a fight on a battlefield. You go in confident and sure that you'll come out on top and maybe even a little scared. Then a bunch of strong guys come at you and all you can do is put up your fists and hope to get some lucky shot in. You keep fighting person after person until there's no one left. _

_ Then you finally drag yourself off of the battlefield. At this point, you either come out as a champion at the top of the world or beaten, bloody, and bruised. Either way, at least you fought the good fight, did your best, and lived life to the fulles. After all, that's all that we can really do anyway._

Kuwabara felt a real sense of accomplishment at finishing this assignment. He laughed to himself. This must be how Kurama felt all of the time. Like he had done something... meaningful and good. "Hey Urameshi, you done yet?" he asked, spinning around to see the other boy was still lying on his bed, propped up on his arms.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Just finished," he grinned and proudly read it out loud.

"Whoa, Kuwabara. That was better than I had expected. Takenaka's going to think that you cheated," Yusuke smirked, knowing exactly how the hot head was going to respond to this.

However, Kuwabara was so happy with himself that he refused to let his friend bring him down tonight. "Whatever. Let me hear yours."

"I wrote two," he shrugged, trying to get the focus off of himself.

Kazuma was flabbergasted. Was he really serious? He couldn't see Yusuke putting in the effort to write one let alone two. He had to be lying, right? "Two? How'd you write two in that time?"

"Not everyone takes two hours to write some stupid essay," the smaller teen teased.

"Just shut up and read it, Urameshi," the red-head ordered, as if he had control over the other boy.

"Nah. I'll save it for Takenaka and let her pick the one that she likes the best."

"Fine," Kuwabara shrugged, figuring that it was probably private. "It's getting kinda late for a school night, ya' know."

"Yeah. I'm exhausted." And with that, Yusuke fluffed the pillows, making himself as comfortable as possible.

Kazuma watched all of this preperation and came to a very important discovery. "I'm not sleeping in my bed tonight, am I?"

"Nope," he yawned, stripping his clothes down so that he was only in his black boxers. "You can have the air matress. Night."

One would expect Kuwabara to be mad, but in reality he was used to it. Usually when Yusuke stayed over, he took over the bed and everything else. So, as normal, hepulled the air mattress from under the bad and laid down on top of it. "Night Urameshi."

Yusuke fell asleep and started snoring seconds after he closed his eyes. Kuwabara on the other hand, laid on his back propped on his arms. He couldn't sleep. All that he could do was lie and wonder what Urameshi had written down. He could always go into his friend's bag, read it, and put it back without the detective ever knowing it. But as a true man of honor, he could not and would not go against Urameshi's wishes. He sighed and closed his eyes, forcing himself into sleep with great expectations for tomorrow.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My fourth Yu yu Hakusho fanfiction! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	3. Yusuke: Expectations

Chapter 3

Yusuke: Expectations

_RECAP:_

_One would expect Kuwabara to be mad, but in reality he was used to it. Usually when Yusuke stayed over, he took over the bed and everything else. So, as normal, hepulled the air mattress from under the bad and laid down on top of it. "Night Urameshi."_

_ Yusuke fell asleep and started snoring seconds after he closed his eyes. Kuwabara on the other hand, laid on his back propped on his arms. He couldn't sleep. All that he could do was lie and wonder what Urameshi had written down. He could always go into his friend's bag, read it, and put it back without the detective ever knowing it. But as a true man of honor, he could not and would not go against Urameshi's wishes. He sighed and closed his eyes, forcing himself into sleep with great expectations for tomorrow._

Third Person POV:

"C'mon Urameshi. Hurry up!" Kuwabara shouted from the door. "We gotta get to school."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," the other teen yelled back while hopping you, trying to pull on his shoes. He finally managed that task after some cursing. "See, I'm right here."

"Let's just go, Urameshi," Kuwabara huffed. He did not want to be late again today. "We're gonna be late."

"Well then, stop gabbing and start walking." Kuwabara grimaced and considered hitting the other boy, but just sighed and started walking. Yusuke followed right beside him, grimacing slightly because school was the last place that he wanted to be today.

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing outside of Seryiaski Jr. High.

And Kuwabara thought of somehting. "Hey, you did bring your papers, didn't you?" It would be just like Yusuke to 'accidentally' leave them so he could skip school to go and 'pick them up'.

"Yeah, I got it. Let's just go to our stupid clsass."

Kazuma nodded and the two went up to their first class. The day ticked by so slowly. Every moment seemed to drag on forever. But soon enough it was the last class of the day. Time for Ms. Takenaka's class.

Most people would find the fact that Takenaka was a teacher, very surprising to say the least. She was tall and had an erect carrying position. Her hair was a shining caramel brown and hung down to her back. She had large green eyes, a perfectly small nose and cherubic red lips. Her long graceful neck led down to her busty chest, trim waist, curvy hips and shapely legs.

Even her clothes were not typical of a normal teacher. Her black skirt was a little shorter, her white shirt was a bit tighter, and her shoes a bit higher than what one would expect of a teacher. But to her, it was just a cute outfit. Just a part of who she was.

Ms. Ayame Takentaka had been teaching for a few years now. She had made it her mission to try to help as many students as she could. So, everyday she stood by the door and greeted each of her students by name.

Of course, Kuwabara was on time to class. "Hey Kuwabara," she smiled as the red-head entered the door.

"Hey Ms. Takenaka," he waved as he slouched in and sat at the back of the class in his usual seat.

The young teacher kept greeting each entering student until the bell rang. She quickly took not of all of the student's faces. It did not take her long to realize that only one person was missing, but of course she had expected this. Her favorite student, Yusuke Urameshi, had lots of potential. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that. She knew and appreciated it, but he was too stubborn to ever accept that.

And of course, Yusuke was also late to class again. Somehow, he always managed to saunter in ten to fifteen minutes after the second bell with an apology that he didn't mean.

Ayame glanced up at the clock. Ten minutes late. He should be arriving right about... now. And true to form, at that moment the door crashed open with a bang. "Hey Teach," Yusuke waved, carrying his black school bag over his shoulder.

"Yusuke," She sighed. "You're late again. What's your excuse this time?"

"I was savin' a cat from a tree," he shrugged with a rougish grin on his face that let everyone know that he was up to no good.

"Somehow, I don't believe that."

He grinned even wider as he noticed that his classmates were watching him intensely. "Yeah, you're right. I was just thinkin' so hard that I lost track of the time and didn't hear the bell ring." Lying. Yusuke Urameshi had it down to a fine art. It was one of the few things that he _**knew **_that he did well.

"You thinking? I don't believe that either," She smirked. Urameshi may be a good liar, but Ms. Takenaka was even better. Or maybe, Urameshi just wasn't as good as he thought.

"Eh. You win some. You lose some," he smirked, walking to his seat in the back next to Kuwabara.

Ha, he actually thought that he was going to get away with interrupting class. Shame on him. "Oh no, Yusuke. You were late again, so I'm going to do something to teach you a lesson," She warned. "Kazuya, could you move back beside Kuwabara for me please?"

Kazuya's face paled. He was intimidated by the red-head who could easily beat him up. Or maybe even still his lunch money. But he couldn't go against the teacher's direct order; he was much too good for that. So, he swallowed his fears and stumbled back to the empty seat with his knees knocking the entire way. Somehow, he managed to sit down without falling, but scooted his chair as far away from the burly man as he possibly could.

"Now, you get to sit right in front of me," Takenaka beamed in what may have passed innocence to anyone who was inexperienced and gullible.

"Yay!" Urameshi drug out as he took his seat. This was going to be so... sucky. He usually spent most of this class messing with Kuwabara, but now he was so far away that he couldn't do that. Great. He might actually be on time tomorrow if this was going to be his ongoing punishment.

Ayame quickly lost interest in the boy and resumed teaching her class. For Yusuke, it seemed to go on forever. Thankfully, it finally ended.

Yusuke hopped up, ready to get the hell out of there. He really wanted to catch up on his lost time. After all, he hadn't made fun of Kuwabara for an hour now. However, Ms. Takenaka had a different plan. "Yusuke, would you wait a few minutes, please?"

And that was one of the things that Yusuke hated the most about teachers. They would pretend to ask you to do something, but everyone knows that you have to. "As if I had a choice," Urameshi groaned.

"Yusuke, you always have a choice. But one choice'll lead to me chasing you down the hall." And funnily enough, he knew that she meant what she had said. She usually did.

"Whatever. What do you want from me?"

Ayame sighed and sat down on top of her desk, facing her young student. "Have you written your paper yet?"

"It's not due for three weeks, remember?" he smirked.

"Of course I do. I assigned the paper. But something tells me that you've already written it."

Yusuke's confident smirk faded. How did she always do that? Surely, she couldn't know him that well. Surely, he wasn't that predictable. "Okay, fine. You caught me," he admitted. "I wrote it, but I had a few ideas, so I wrote more than one."

"Excellent," she clapped. "Tell you what. Sit there and we'll read over them and pick the best one for your to turn in."

Yusuke thought about it for a moment. Did he really want her to read his innermost thoughts? He supposed that it didn't really matter. He needed the grade. He needed to pass this year. "Okay."

He reached down into his satchel and pulled out his papers. He handed all three of them to his expectant teacher. She looked down at the first one and silently read:

_Life is like a patch of grass. When you first get it, you're so proud and happy because it's so expensive. It seems like the best moment that you'll ever have. You care so much for that patch of grass that you get out there and water it every morning. You even clip the individual blades, so that they look perfect._

_ And then one day, some small, whiny, ugly Chiuaua comes up and takes a crap on your patch of grass. You're upset, but you go clean it up, and get your lawn up to its usual standard._

_ The next day, you go outside and see a Poodle standing next to its own mess. Once again, you go about your business and you clean it up._

_ It begins to happen again and again with an even bigger dog everyday. You keep cleaning it up as long as you possibly can. But eventually there is a permanent stain that had formed on your once pristine lawn. One that cannot be washed away. One that will forever taint and tarnish the value of your beloved patch of grass. And in the end, you're left with nothing but the memory of what you used to have._

Ms. Takenaka looked up at her favorite student. This essay was wonderful. It was well written and greatly thought out. He was finally fitting up to who she thought that she knew he could be. She was seriously looking forward to the other two essays.

_Life is a lot like having a best friend. You care about your best friend more than anyone else in the world, and you'll do anything for them._

_ But sometimes you two get into a fight. Somethimes you hate each other, and it seems like they'll do anything to hurt you. They'll call you names, they'll try to beat you, they'll lie to you, and they'll turn your other friends against you. You're so proud that you hate to admit it, but it does start to tear you down. You feel like you're almost beaten to the ground._

_ Then, after a while, you make up again and things are good. It's like nothing even happened. You're stronger than ever and every thing that made you mad is just a faint blur in the back of your mind. Until the next fight anyway._

_ Which brings to mind a quote that one of my best friends once told me. "Never take life or friends too seriously. No one makes it out of either alive anyway."_

Takenaka preferred the first one, but this was still of a much better quality then what he turned in for class work. She was very impressed and looking forward to the last and hopefully best one.

_ Life is like an alcoholic. Like an alcoholic, you stumbled into life, blind and bleary-eyes with no idea of what is going on around you. And somehow both the child and the lush manages to live longer. However, life is not completely smooth for either the kid or the alcoholic._

_ The woman's so wasted that she doesn't know anything. She doesn't even notice the guys following her from the bar. She doesn't even notice one of them swinging at her until his fist makes contact with her face. The blow knocks her to the ground. She tries to come back to her senses and block her face, but they're too strong. _

_ They turn her around. She's punched, kicked, stabbed and beaten until they think that she's done for. The meanest guy gives her one last kick in the ribs, turns, runs off, and leaves her for dead in that alley._

_ Somehow, she managed to pull herself up to her feet. She staggers towards her home. Every step hurts and sends a gush of blood erupting from her wounds. She groaned again, but dragged herself all of the way to her door. She got it open and threw herself down on the floor, welcoming the death that she knew was going to come._

_ The next morning, her son found her there. He was crying as he tried to clean her up. He was trying to wipe the blood away, but she kept moaning in pain. It was all up to him; he couldn't take her to the hospital, because she might be taken away. And she was all that he had in the whole world._

_ Thankfully, she lived through the day and night, but her son was forever changed. He had seen something that no eight year old should ever have to see. He had seen his mother, his one lifeline, on the edge of death. He had seen how evil people could see. There was no way back._

_ So, that samw night after his mother had fallen asleep, he went out looking for the guys who had done it. It wasn't very hard for him to find them since they always hung out at the same bar. That's when he got into his first fight with people who were bigger than him. It may be hard to believe, but he managed to beat them all. To this day, he believes that it was his pure anguish that allowed him the slightest chance agains the four, burly men. _

_ Though he won, he did not escape injury. This time, he had to be patched up, but that was how he'd rather have it._

_ He remembered getting home and collapsing on the ground in the same place that his mother had the night before. Then, he blacked out because he just couldn't comprehend what had happened to him over the last twenty-four hours. When his eyes opened, he saw his mother crying above him. _

_ He blacked out again. The next time that he came to, he was lying in a hospital bed for the first time. Though, it was not to be the last in his life._

_ He was terrifyed as his mom explained his injuries to him. He was bruised, had a broken rib, and a fractured leg. He remebered how tender she was. She brushed his hair out of his eyes and kissed his cheeks. She held him tight and he fell asleep in his mother's arms that night. It was the first time that that had happened in years._

_ You may be wondering how I can compare life to an alcoholic. As a person who had lived with one their entire life, I'd say that it was pretty damn capable._

_ An alcoholic has bad days. Days like the one where the woman was beaten. Days that make them almost crazy. Days when they can't even remember their own names. _

_ And then there are the good days when they're sober. Days when they care and tell you that they love you. Days when they hug and kiss you. Days when they laugh and and smile for no real reason. Days when you're really happy and it seems like nothing in the whole wide world could bring you down._

_ Sounds a lot like life, huh? The life of a kid of an alcoholic anyway. Just remember: "Things are always darkest befreo the dawn, but dawn will come... eventually."_

Ayame Takenaka looked up from the paper with tears in her eyes. She had never felt more in tune with Yusuke Urameshi. She remembered having the same feelings when dealing with her own mother.

"Yusuke. This one. It was the best and most...heart-wrenching," she gasped, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah," he shrugged, hiding his own pain. "I guess you probably think that I stole it, right?"

"Of course not. I know that you wrote it," she shook her head. His self-opinion wasn't great. Was this what everyone thought? That he was stupid and stole his work from other people? No, he was much too smart for that type of behavior. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Teach."

"Why did they beat her?" This question had been eating her up ever since she had first read it.

"Three dollars and fifty cents," he mumbled, his eyes haunted. "They had been buying her drinks at the bar, expecting her to go home with 'em. When she said 'no' they followed her... and well you know the rest."

"I'm going to grade this one," she told him. "But I want to ask you for a favor."

"Doesn't everyone?" he chuckled, bringing himself back to his normal behavior. "But what do you want?"

"I want your permission to read and keep these as examples for how students ought to write."

"Sure. Can I go now?" He was more than ready to leave. This was going to get way too emotional for him. To be honest, he hadn't expected to be here when she was reading it. In fact, he'd rather be anywhere else in the world doing anything else.

"You can, but just know that... I'm here for you. I really care and I even know where you're coming from. If you _**ever**_ need someone to talk to, you can come to me."

Urameshi had heard it more than a million times. But this time was different. This time, he actually believed that she meant what she had said. "Okay Takenaka," he sighed. " I'll keep it in mind."

Ayame smiled as she led her student out of the door. She shut it behind him, glad that she had made to mention that she was very impressed with the boy. He had lived through so much in his life, and still continued to be positive and course, now her expectations would be a lot higher and he'd just have to live up to them... or else.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My fourth Yu yu Hakusho fanfiction! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	4. Kurama's Rose

Chapter 4

Kurama's Rose

Third Person POV:

It wa sa typical Tuesday night in the Minamino household. Shiori was in the kitchen, cleaning up the left overs from dinner. Her son, Suichi, was upstairs in his room writing an essay.

His essay wasn't particularly trying, but he would much rather read his new book. He sighed, but continued planning out the rest of his paper. Just then, there came a sharp tapping sound from the window.

He allowed himself a slight smirk before turning to the window. Ah, right on time. There was a small man crouched on the sill. He had black hair that stood high on his head, red eyes and a petulant expression. The boy was angrily gesturing at the window.

Kurama, the spirit fox, knew exactly what his friend wanted him to do, but he had to let him suffer just a bit. So, he shrugged like he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He could almost feel the fire demon's temper heat up. Just when Hiei was about to blow up, the fox opened the window and allowed the smaller man to slip inside. And he only did this because he did not want his window broken again.

"Do you always have to do that, Fox?" Hiei demanded, his red eyes flashing dangerously.

"Hello Hiei, I am fine and so are you, I hope."

"Hn," the fire demon grunted. His friend was always trying to enstill him with manners. And so far that was going exactly as was to be expected, meaning not at all.

The red-head covered his mouth, resisting the urge to laugh out loud. Hiei was too easy, much to easy to ruffle. Within ten seconds, he could have him spitting flames, and within a minute he could be standing in the middle of a warzone. Ah, the price one pays for friendly enjoyment. "You're welcome to have the bed. I have homework to do at the moment."

"Why do you persist in doing this idiotic homework?" Hiei demanded, spitting the word 'homework' like it was some evil entity.

Kurama was extraordinarily intelligent, so he knew exactly what was being asked of him. But he chose to answer the question in his own round-about way. "I do love to get good grades."

"That is _**not**_ what I asked you. I meant why do you persist in acting human?" Hiei scowled. Just the thought of having to live with these humans was enough to make his bad mood worse. Not only were they barbaric, they were just awful in general. He much preferred the danger and thrill of living with his own kind.

Kurama sighed. The two men had had this same conversation over and over again since the day that they had met. And still, he was always asked and always responded. "Perhaps I've acclamaited to humanity. You may want to try it."

"No thanks. I'd rather be a demon any day."

"Of course. Now if you'll sit down and stop distracting me, I can finish my essay, read my book, and argue with you," the red-head smirked. He knew that this would finally give him a little bit of peace. For the moment at least.

"Hn," the fire demon scowled, but he sat down on the bed. Just watching the fox work, and wishing that he could distract him.

Thankfully, Kurama had fantastic concentration. He was easily able to finish his paper within fifteen minutes. After doing so, he stretched and sighed, pushing his long hair back as he always did.

"Finished, I suppose?" Hiei chimed in from the bed. As he knew the stretching and sighing were for his benefit to let him know that he was welcome to talk.

"Finally," Kurama sighed. "Do you want to know what it's about?"

"Oh, of course. What is your human educationaly system forcing you to do this time?" He was trying to pretend that he didn't really care, but honestly the curiosity was burning him up inside.

"An essay about our perceptionis of life. Any length of any caliber."

"Let me read it," the fox demon demanded.

Kurama was a bit shocked, but still played out his role as tormentor well. "Don't tell me that you're interested in my idiotic human educational essays," he gasped in faux surprise.

"You know that I care nothing about humanity's perceptions. It's yours that I am curious about."

"How touching," the fox grinned at the angry blush that was spreading across the younger man's face. Ah, this was his favorite hobby. He would leave all educational pursuits just to do this.

"Hn," The fire demon grunted, angrily. He hated when Kurama got the idea to be like this. And it happened so very often. Needless to say, it was gotting very annoying.

"You should lighten up, Hiei," Kurama said, passing his paper to his friend before he could blow. The last thing that he wanted was to have his house completely destroyed and have to explain it to his mother. Or give her a mempry-erasing plant like he had the last time that it had happened. Either way...

"Hn," he grunted again. Honestly, that one sound was his absolute favorite. It was like no other existed. Then, he turned his full attention to the paper that was in front of him.

_How does one describe life? Anyone with a pen in hand would have a differing view. Some may compare it to a fire, a friend, an old love, or even an animal. In my opinion, life is like a rose. Every single rose is both complex and beautiful in its own way just as each person's life is._

_ Imagine a rose for a second. Its beauty. Its splendour. The graceful and elegant red petals that build up its structure. The long greem stem. The entire plant that acts as a visual candy. A veritable pleasure of the visual palate. A gift used for the enjoyment and adoration of others._

_ To some people, at any rate. To other people, they are nothing more than an irritant. The roses attract bees, they smell loudly, they aren't very attractive, or maybe they cause allergic reactions._

_ Just like in life. Some people find that everything just comes easy to them. then on the other hand, there are people who live everyday as a struggling challenge. They fight to swilm and end up drowning under the currents. They wake up alone and live in a constant state of internal suffering, fear, and pain. There is almost never any relief or even reprieve from the dramas of life._

_ Every rose has its thorn. The prick is painful and you're guarenteed to bleed. Once again, like in life. No matter the caliber of the rose or the life, both have their drawbacks. With roses its the thorns. with life its the constant problems, burdens, and turmoils that toment us on a daily basis._

_ However, roses have different uses. In some people's hands they are a hair fixture, an enchanting centerpiece, an exquisite gift, a representation of love, or even a weapon in the right hands. It's the same with life. Some people's lives are lived to the fullest. Others, become miserable liars, murderers, criminals, or just unhappy._

_ In the end, life can be anything. And as long as they can defend their view, does it really matter what one thinks? Life is what you make it and _**you**_ have to decide how you will live it. Will it be a beautiful rose or a dying bud? And whill you be able to take the thorns along with the beauty. The choice is yours. Take it, make the best of what you have, and remember to take the time to smell the roses._

"Interesting," Hieil muttered to himself after he had read the paper.

Kurama looked up from the book that he had been reading. "What? The fact that you are able to read?"

"Cute," the fire demon snapped. "I was thinking of the thing that you wrote. Isn't it supposed to reflect _**your**_ perceptions of life?"

"And who's perceptions do you think that I wrote about?"

"A humans," Hiei responded in absolute disgust. "What would Youko Kurama write?"

"I don't think you understand. Youko Kurama and Suichi Minamino are connected," Kurama reminded the black-haired boy.

"Yes, I do understand, Fox. But Youko does share his opinions, doesn't he?"

"Of course. However, the fact is that he has also had to adjust to living among the humans. And to some small extent, he has. In fact, he has even formed permanent relationships with some."

"His loss," Hiei shrugged. In a way, he felt that Youko had lost his will power, and even the very best part of himself. "It wasn't awful though it could have used some demonic creativity."

Just then an interesting idea struck the fox. One that should keep him quiet until he had time to finish his book. "If you're really want to see a demonic opinion then why don't you write your own?"

The fire demon snorted in the face of the challenge. "I am _**not**_ some human school boy." And he would never allow himself to be treated like one. That was Kurama's job.

"Fine," he said, pulling out a note pad and extra pen from his desk. "If you change your mind while I'm gone then the items for it are right here."

"Not likely." And then something that Kurama had said clicked in the fire demon's brain. "And just where are you going to go?"

"To speak to my mother, of course." He noticed a slight spark of some unknown emotion play across his diminutive friend's face. "If you're finally ready to meet my mother then you're welcome to come along." For the entire time that the two had been friends, Hiei had never summoned up the courage to meet Shiori. Yet Kurama had high hopes that the day for that would be soon. Of course, if the smaller man kept up his stubborness then he could very well be proved wrong.

"No thanks."

"Then I'll be back soon," Kurama said, standing and exiting the room gracefully.

Hiei just rolled his eyes at the fox. But all the while he couldn't believe what the fox had written. 'Life is like a rose.' Ha, only if you were an optimistic fool. He could write a better and more truthful paper.

The fire demon sighed yet again. He would hate himself for this later, but he still stood up, went to Kurama's desk, and picked up the notebook and pen. Now it was time to see how he felt for life. Needless to say, it wouldn't be kind. And with that malicious thought, Hiei sat down to write his own perceptions of life.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My fourth Yu yu Hakusho fanfiction! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	5. Hiei's Double Bladed Sword

Chapter 5

Hiei's Double Bladed Sword

_RECAP:_

_ "And just where are you going to go?"_

_ "To speak to my mother, of course." He noticed a slight spark of some unknown emotion play across his diminutive friend's face. "If you're finally ready to meet my mother then you're welcome to come along." For the entire time that the two had been friends, Hiei had never summoned up the courage to meet Shiori. Yet Kurama had high hopes that the day for that would be soon. Of course, if the smaller man kept up his stubborness then he could very well be proved wrong._

_ "No thanks."_

_ "Then I'll be back soon," Kurama said, standing and exiting the room gracefully._

_ Hiei just rolled his eyes at the fox. But all the while he couldn't believe what the fox had written. 'Life is like a rose.' Ha, only if you were an optimistic fool. He could write a better and more truthful paper._

_ The fire demon sighed yet again. He would hate himself for this later, but he still stood up, went to Kurama's desk, and picked up the notebook and pen. Now it was time to see how he felt for life. Needless to say, it wouldn't be kind. And with that malicious thought, Hiei sat down to write his own perceptions of life._

**Third Person POV:**

_Life. Humans would have you to think that it was some grand picnic or jovial holiday. I, on the other hand, take a realistically demonic approach. Life is like a double-bladed sword. It's hard, cold, sharp, and unforgiving._

_ A correctly crafted blade is a beautifully elegant item. It shines as it sides forth from its sheath, but don't be fooled by its appearance. This same beautiful sword will slice through your insides as if you were nothing more than a slice of bread._

_ Moral of the story. The sword does not discriminate. It will tear asunder anyone who is weak enough to fall under its might. So, don't pretend that life is about love or any other such sentimental claptrap. No, life is solely about those strong enough to survive and those who are weak enough to succumb to defeat._

Hiei had been writing so furiously that he did not notice Kurama enter the room. When the fox was sure that his friend was done, he spoke. "I see that you did decide to write your... point of view."

Hiei jumped about a foot into the air before finally regaining his usual composure. "Yes and?"

The fox ignored the bad attitude and pressed on to what he really wanted. "May I read it?" As if Hiei would ever refuse him anything.

"Fine, but note that it isn't full of foolish human sentiments." Because nothing that he ever wrote would display such idiotic professions of feelings.

Kurama took the paper and read it quickly. Somehow, he was not surprised at the words that were on the page. "You were correct. Your view of life showed no type of sentiment whatsoever."

"Did you expect it to?" the fire demon smirked. Sentiment from him? It was like trying to get blood from a turnip. Or at least that's how he wanted to seem.

"No, I know you too well for that. You'd rather embrace these lies then the truth," the fox shrugged, knowing that he had just baited the young fire demon.

"Lies? What was that, fox?" Hiei demanded. He could feel the heat rising up in his body. No one called him a liar. No one ever challenged him. Those who dared to do so, found themselves on the edge of his blade.

"In your essay, you talk about how one cna only depend on themself. You don't believe that." Kurama paused. "There are people that you really do care about and we both know it."

"Hn," the smaller man grunted. "I don't care for anyone other than myself."

"You do. You have some sort of affection for all of our friends. Yusuke, Yukina, Botan, Koenma, and even Kuwabara."

Hiei's nostrils flared. "Oh please. The detective is my adversary and has been since we first encountered each other. As for the pilot and the crowned prince... we both know that they are nothing more than slave masters. Pupetteers that pull our strings and make us do as much as they possibly can. And as for the oaf... don't make me laugh."

"And what about Yukina. Obviously you cannot deny that you have some feelings of love for her." And if Kurama could get him to admit that then he would have won some small victory. After all, the war is just the comprisal of several small battles.

"She's my sister." And that was all that he was going to say about her. She was off of the topics allowed for conversation. No one could say anything about her in his prescence. Besides, he still hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that he had someone to care about.

"I'm sure that there must be another person that you have an affinity for..." Kurama trailed off.

A wry grin lit the face of the normally apathetic fire demon. "Who would that be?"

"Me, of course."

A slight reddish tinge came to the smaller man's face. "What makes you think that I care for you?"

"I have a hunch. Besides, I'm quite willing to admit that I care for you. You are my closest friend, after all," the red head admitted, sitting down on the bed next to his friend. Kurama wasn't much one to admit his feelings, but felt the need to tell his little friend that he really cared.

Hiei felt a ball of emotion in the back of his throat. He had never eally felt any kindness form anyone in his entire life. This felt... strange and very awkward. "Really? I'm your closest friend? Pathetic."

The fox rolled his eyes. Of course, Hiei would have problems with accepting the truth. He was an emotionally battered young man who had no idea how to take kindness. "You may think so, but I don't." The fox looked into Hiei's eyes and placed his hand on the boy's knees. "I do wonder if you think the same about me."

"And if I did?"

"If you admitted it, then you'd probably be a much more tolerable individual by far," he chuckled, though he anyone who knew them would admit that he had a point.

"I don't want or need to be more tolerable for anyone's sake," he sneered. Honestly, the way that people acted just to please others. It was disgusting.

Kurama sighed, appearing to be beaten and battered for once. "Fine. If you dont' want to talk and be reasonable then I won't try to force you to be. The fox stood stiffly, making his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" the fire demon demanded from his place on the bed. As much as he hated to admit it, he did not like to see the fox look so... defeated. Especially not when he was behind it.

"I must go use the restroom," he replied in a deadpan voice. He exited the room with something that wasa bit less than his usual grace.

His friend watched him go, and felt bad. He had hurt his friend. But on the other hand, revealing feelings was definitely not his storong point. In fact, it would be almost impossible. Yet... it was Kurama.

He grumbled to himself as he pulled out another piece of paper and scribbled something on it before jumping out of the window and landing carefully on the ground.

Kurama came back into his room to see a note on the bed and an open window through which a breeze was gently fluttering the curtains. The red-head had not expectedhis friend to be there when he got back. It was Hiei's nature to run from his emotions and anyone who would force him to face them. He sighed as he relaxed back unto the bed and picked up the note.

_Fox,_

_ Since you're being such an infant about it... I suppose I'll have to come clean. Though it pains me to admit it, you are my best and closest friend. Yes, I appreciate you and all of the other things that I'm expected to say. But note that I won't say it because I do have __some__ self-respect left. So, thanks for being there and all of those things that humans say._

_ By the way, if you value your life then you won't tell anyone about this or show this to anyone. IF you do, then I'll take my sword and chop you into tiny pieces._

_ -Hiei._

The fox couldn't help but chuckle. Hiei had finally admitted that he cared. However, it wouldn't be him if he had not included a death threat to spice up his love. A death threat that would never be carried out. But still hilarious none the less.

Kurama laid there seemingly unaware of the man crouching on the ground near his window. Hiei was listening to hear what the fox would say. The chuckle was enough for him. He was accepted. And that strange feeling of acceptance kept him warm as he ran off into the night with the wind on his face and a newfound joy in his heart.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My fifth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	6. The River and the Wall

Chapter 6

The River and the Wall

**Third person POV:**

"Koenma sir," chirruped the pink-eyes, blue-haired beauty as she entered the office of her boss... and lover who also happened to be the prince of Spirit World.

Toward the back of the bright office, sat a large desk with a tall teen behind it. The teen had long, brown hair that was falling into his eyes. Though his biggest distinguishing features were the blue pacifier that he was sucking on and the 'Jr.' insignia that was imprinted on his forehead. "Botan, you know that you don't have to call me sir," he reminded her. After all, they had been together for months now, and there was only one place that the word 'sir' was permissable.

She grinned and took her place on the desk, facing him. "We are at work, so let's be somewhat professional, shall we?"

He sighed as he looked at the tight little shirt that she was wearing. How could he ever be professional when his lover was right here in front of him looking like that? "You're right of course. We'll keep it professional." That's what his mouth said, but in his mind he was thinking that he'd rather not be professional at all. Especially not where she was involved.

The woman glacned down at the desk that she was sitting on, and remembered the last time that he had made that promise. "I don't believe you."

"Neither do I," he chuckled. "But I suppose we should at least try to get down to business. How's Yusuke doing?" As Prince of the Spirit World, it was part of Koenma's job to make sure that his young detective was behaving. Or at least not causing too much trouble.

At this Botan straightened up and got into full reporting mode. Many people did not beleive it, but she was actually quite the serious pilot, which is how she came to be Koenma's right hand woman. "He seems to be doing quite fine. His behavior in one of his classes has improved a great deal."

This piqued the young prince's interest. Yusuke was known for being a bit of a trouble maker in most of his classes,and the idea of him behaving in any of them is enough to prick the interest of almost anyone. "Really? Tell me about the class."

"Class: Writing today. Teacher's name: Ayame Takenaka. 5'7. Brown hair and green eyes. Young and quite pretty." Koenma felt like smirking when he heard the word 'pretty'. No one was as beautiful as his pilot.

"Interesting. Do we have any work that he has submitted to this class?"

"Yes, we do." She stopped and rifled through the folder that was sitting on her lap. "Ah yes, here it is. He received a perfect score on his final paper that determined whether he would pass or fail the class."

Koenma was shocked. Yes, Yusuke was smart, but he was also very lazy. So, he took the copy of the patper and read it. When he was done, he set it down gingerly. "Yusuke wrote that?" he asked in shock.

"Yes," Botan nodded her blue head. "He wrote that paper." Somehow, it wasn't quite as hard for her to believe, because she knew just how intelligent he could be when he put his mind to it. Obviously, he had actually tried this time.

"And we're sure that no one else wrote it for him?" It wouldn't be typical Yusuke behavior to have done so, but the detective was nothing if not unpredictable. Though to be fair, that's why he had hired him in the first place.

"Yes, we're one hundred percent sure, sir," Botan assure him. "It's good isn't it? I cried the first time that I read it." And she had, knowing that the story was really a true one in his life and not just a hypothetical occurence. Though she probably still would have cried even if it was just hypothetical.

"It is good. Great. I always knew that he was capable of doing things like this, but he just never has..." the prince trailed off. "Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yes actually. Kuwabara also did well on his report. Only ten points from a perfect score, so he has also passed. Needless to say, Kurama recieved perfect marks as usual," she rattled off, but passed when she got to the unbelievable protion of her news. "And even Hiei has partcipated in this project. Obviously, his was not graded, and was of a more demonic bent..."

"Wait! Hiei wrote one too?" Koenma spluttered in shock. Hiei was the type to find anything that had to do with humans to be trivial and idiotic. If he did actually write something then it Kurama must have had a hand in it.

"Yes. It seems to be the 'in thing' to do right now," she shrugged.

"At least, it's keeping our heroes out of trouble," the Prince nodded. He was feeling a bit tired and in need of a stretch. "I think that's about it for today, honey. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

She pretended to condsider his offer. "Hmmm. I'd love to, but first I think I'd like to do something else," she grinned mischeviously.

Koenma took this as any teenage boy would take it. His grin stretched across his face as he leaned forward to capture her mouth in a kiss. Unfortunately, he was met with her hand instead of her lips. "I take it that **that** isn't what you had in mind."

"No, you silly goose," she giggled, touching the tip of his nose. "I was thinking that we could write our own perceptions of life essays, and then we'll go out for a romantic dinner."

"Just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us."

"Okay," he sighed, picking up a piece of paper and a pen from right beside his girlfriend's firm little butt. He tried not to think like that, but he was a man after all.

"Spledid!" she grinned, doing the same.

The couple sat quietly enough that the only sound that could be heard was the scratch of thier pens on the page. This continued on for about fifteen more minutes. At which time, both of them put down their pens. "Finished," they said together.

"Here, you can read mine and I'll read yours," Botan suggeted, and Koenma complied, taking her paper.

The young prince looked down at Botan's paper which read as follows:

_As a Pilot of the RIver Styx, it is my job to know the ins and outs of both life and death. If one were to ask my opinion on life, then I would say that life is like a river._

_ In some places it runs straight and smooth and the water is cool and refreshing. You wish that you could just sit here for the rest of your life and think of nothing more than this. But in other places, it twists and turns wildly as the currents race dashing everything in its path to bits. And there's nothing that you want more than to distance yourself from that. All the while, the river continues to flow, and the rough spots get werse. Now the river is dirty and congested with dying animals and plants._

_ But the best thing about a river is that it will eventuall get back to a part that is bery much like that first smooth portion. And that smooth part really does tend to last longer than the others. So, in conclusion, life is like a river. It has its ups and downs, its joys and disappointments, its strengths and its weaknesses. Moments where we're on top of the world and moments where the world is on top of us. All that we can do is to rode out the bad times and hold the good ones close to us._

Koenma looked down at the paper that he was holding in shock. Botan was one of the brightest women that he knew, but at times, to most people she would seem flighty. After all, she was a pretty girl with an easy laugh. But Botan was not simple. She just looked at the good in everyone even if there really was none. She lived in an almost constant state of cheer. Nothing could get her down. So, to hear her even mention that there were really bad things in life was... shocking to say the least.

Meanwhile, Botan was reading her lover's paper.

_I am Prince of Spirit world, and as such it is my job to know the constraints of life. Life is like a wall. Stop for a second and imagine a brick wall. The strong red bricks of varying sizes and shades held together only by mortar._

_ Every brick is representative of a single moment in our lives, and the mortar is the collective memories that hold us together as humans. When the wall of our life is first built, it's a perfect construction. But as time moces on, the brick begins to crumble and the mortar wears away from where hundreds of fingers had rubbed. Though the wall is still standing, it will never be quite the same again. And eventually, the wall becomes too weak to to stand anymore and falls._

_ As in life, we live. Things start out good, but as it moves on it sometimes changes for the worse. Bad things happen to good people, and each of these type of events tear down a section of the wall. Though times are awful, life still marches on. Until you eventually die and the wall that was you has crumbled into absolutely nothing._

"Very good, sir," Botan smiled.

"I told you not to call me sir, Botan," he pouted. Botan grinned as his lips poked out. THere was nothing cuter than that. Absolutely nothing.

"That's not what you said last night," she sing-songed.

The prince's blush was more than enough for her. SHe giggled and leant down to kiss his forehead. He wasn't going to have that. He brought his lips to hers. His moved passionately with the slightest bit of tongue dancing eagerly in and out. The two finally broke apart, gasping for air. Koenma stood up, stretched his back out, and straighened his tousled clothes. "Are we ready to go to dinner?"

Botan nimbly hopped up off of the desk. "Just waiting for you, Love."

"Mmmm," he murmered, wrapping his arm around her trim waist and thinking of how beautiful she really was on the inside and out.

"Why don't we eat at that new Ramen shop?" she suggested.

"That's fine, but let's have dessert at my place," he grinned cheerfully, obviously stating a double entendre.

"Ooooh," she giggled, knowing what was coming, but still feeling a sense of constant excitement. It was almost like being a teenager again. The hormones, the excitement, the strange thrill of new love. It was... wonderful. "And what's for dessert?"

He grinned, leasing her out of the door. "You." And the two both chuckled with anticipation as they walked out into the night together, the way that they knew they would always be.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My sixth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	7. Keiko's First Love

Chapter 7

Keiko: First Love

**Third Person POV:**

Keiko Yukimoura sat at her desk, glaring down at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. One might thing that it was strange to glare at a piece of paper, but only if one did not know who Keiko had the highest grades at Seryiaski Jr. high. School just came naturally to her. Or at least it usually did. In her English class, she had been given one very simple assignment. Write her perception of life and adequately defend it.

It was simple, easy, a piece of cake. Yet, she didn't know what to write about. What was her life like? Or rather how was life in general for the average person? Ugh, this was so frustrating. Usually, she had perfect scores and great ideas. So, what was wrong with her today?

Just as she was getting even angrier, there was a sharp tap on her window. Keiko whirled around to see a familiar, green, jump-suited figure crouched on her sill. Her scowl turned to a bright grin as she went and flung the window open. It was the one person that she actually wanted to see at the rather the only person that she could always find time to see.

"S'up Keiko?" Yusuke grinned, landing perfectly on her floor, his hands propped up behind his head.

"Yusuke, what are you doing?" Her voice sounded somewhat stern and even more angry, but both people knew that she was actually very happy to see him.

"Can't I just come and visit you?" he smirked. Of course, he could but she couldn't just admit that or his ego would become even more enlarged.

"Can't you use the door like a normal person?"

"Me? Normal? Yeah riiiight," he scoffed. "And as for the door, well take a look at the clock."

She glanced up at the pink click on her wall. It read 1:00, as in a.m. "Oh, I didn't know that it was that late." She knew that she would be exhausted in the morning, but she had work to do and couldn't afford to put it off another day.

"Yeah, I was walking by and saw your light on," he muttered embarrassedly. He'd never admit it, but when he couldn't sleep, he would stand out side of her window and make sure that she was okay. No, that'd be way too weird... and too emotional for him. "What're you still doing up anyway?"

"I've been trying to work on my English paper," she admitted.

"Whoa, Keiko hasn't finished it yet?" he gasped in astonishment. Anyone would have expected her to be the first person to have finished and turned it in. But he supposed that there was a first time for everything.

"Well, we can't all get perfect scores, now can we?"

Urameshi chuckled to himself. "Isn't this backwards? I mean, who'd think that I'd have a perfect score on anything." His surface tone was joking and kind, but his meaning was very clear.

Keiko's brown eyes softened at that . She reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. "I knew that you could do it. You can do anything."

And that was another reason that Yusuke had dropped by. She actually believed in him. She knew that there was just more to him than what met the eye. He was more than a punk. He was more than a Spirit Detective. He was... Yusuke, and she knew just how great a person Yusuke was. That was why she pushed him so hard."Yeah and I know that you can do it too."

Interestingly enough, people never believe that smart people need to be reassured. And they would be wrong. Everybody needs someone to tell them that they're worth it sometimes. "Really?"

"Duh," he rolled his eyes. "Get back to work, and I'll read it when you're done."

Keiko couldn't help, but knew that he hated English work and he hated to read. Ah, he really would do almost anything for her. The only person in the whole world that would. "Thank you, but I'd do a lot better if you would leave."

"Leave?" he wondered. "Ah, I see. You can't concentrate while I'm here. Niiice."

Keiko blushed profusely at the thought of Yusuke standing over her while she tried to write her essay. And then she thought about him sitting in the corner with that bored look on his face... "Don't flatter yourself."

"Well, I guess I gotta go," he replied and leaned down to plant a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Night." And with that he climbed back out unto the ledge.

` She stood still for a moment before she realized something. She went over to the still open window and leant out of it. "Yuuusuke! You could've used the door!" She could have sworn that she had heard Yusuke's tell-tale chuckle from the ground. She shook her head, and went back to the desk.

Once again, she tired to concentrate on her paper. However, her thoughts kept falling back to Yusuke. Yusuke. She had an idea. Keiko picked up her pen and began to write.

_Life is like your first love. Everything starts out smooth. You flirt, smile, laugh and enjoy every moment of it. In your mind, things couldn't get any better than they are at that second. But that 's just the infatuation phase. As the relationship progresses, you realize that your partner actually has flaws. He snores, he lies, he's afraid to show you his emotions._

_ At that point the two of you hit a snag. You cry all of the time, because you're not sure if you can make it any farther with that person. The tow of you decide that you need to 'take a break' because of you stay together then you might just break up. And all the while, you're falling apart. You don't feel like you can go on. There's a fake smile on your face, but you're crying on the inside. You walk around like a zombie and just try to recover some semblance of your former self. It's almost like some small puff of wind could blow you over, and maybe it should._

_ Just as you're thinking that you'll have to live in perpetual misery, he drops by your house. He visits you and apologizes. He promises to change and he hugs you tightly then he kisses you in that tender way of his. Then, you go back to how you were until it's time to jump over the next defining hurtle of your intertwined life. _

_ As time goes on, you may regret your choices and experiences, but you'll always remember them. Good or bad, they're still there. Happy or sad. Confusing, muddle, troubled, difficult. It's your first love and the only thing that's more difficult than that is life itself._

Keiko read it over and over. It was pretty good, but she planned to rewrite it and make it even better if she could. Tomorrow, she thought as she yawned. She would edit it tomorrow, but now she sleepy. And a growing girl needed her rest.

Keiko got up from the desk and drowsily changed into her night gown. Somehow, she managed to slide in under the covers. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep and dreaming of Yusuke Urameshi, her own first love.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My seventh Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**


	8. Ice Swords and Wind

Chapter 8

Touya's Ice Sword & Jin's Cool wind

A.k.a.: The Ice master and his Cool wind

**Third Person POV:**

"What are we goin' to do today?" the red-headed man asked, his deep blue eyes shining brightly.

He looked to his friend, the small, blue-haired ice demon that was his best friend. "Why don't we just sit here and enjoy the peace?" As if to emphasize his point, he stretched out on his back in the grass and watched the clear blue sky.

Jin snorted loudly. That was the most boring thing that he had ever heard. He needed action. Besides, who would just want to lay around all day? "Ah, that's borin', Touy. We need to do something fun, we do."

The ice demon rolled his eyes. Fun for Jin was usually too much excitement for the smaller man, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. So, he just closed his eyes and ignored the pestering of his friend. However, Jin the windmaster was not someone to be ignored. "Touy. Touy. Touy," he called, but still got no response. Not that he expected to. No, that would be too easy for him.

He grinned evilly. Fine, if he couldn't get his attention that way, then he had another more fun one. He twirled his finger, conjuring up a small mini-tornado. He grinned as he slung it under Touya, hurling him up into the air. "Ahh," he shouted, his eyes flying open. "Put me down, Jin!"

"Aye, I'll put ya down, but you have to find us something ta do."

The ice demon sighed as he struggled in the air. Ahh, it looked like he was going to have to find something to do. And that 's when he had an idea that should preoccupy even Jin for a while. "Fine, but you have to do what _I_ want for the rest of the day."

"Kay." And he gently lowered his friend to the ground, all the while wearing a huge grin on his face. "What're we doing?"

Touya laid back down on the grass and this time Jin took up the place next to the smaller boy. "What would you compare life to?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it for a moment," he said. "_Life is like an ice sword. It's cold and hard to some. But to people like me, it's simply a means to an end. The sword may seem insufficient to some people, but it's sharp and strong enough to hurt someone easily. But on the other hand, it's beautiful. It glints, sparkles, and adds flair to an otherwise typical setting."_

"Wow, that sounded really pretty, Touy," Jin clapped. Though he expected nothing less. Touya had always had a way with words. It was one of his many talents. Talents that Jin sometimes wished he could equal.

"Thanks Jin. Your turn."

Jin sat there quietly. What could he compare life to? And would it sound even as half as good as his friends. He took a deep breath and began. "_Life is like the wind, it is. Sometimes it's warm and sometimes, it's cold. Wind doesn't seem too intimidating, it doesn't. Everyone thinks of wind as nothin' more than a gentle breeze. They're always forgettin that the same breeze can create a big tornado or a hurricane. There are storms in some people's lives and peace in others. But ya' be assured that everybody will experience both in their lives."_

"That was good, Jin," Touya said in surprise. He didn't doubt his friend's ability, but he was still surprised.

"Thanks Touy," he grinned, proud of himself. "I guess ya jus' want ta lie in the grass now." And he was resigned to doing just that. He was gong to relax, for Touya's sake. Even if it bored him to death.

The ice demon looked into his friend's face. He would rather relax and look at the clouds, but Jin wasn't like that. He would want to do something. He always did. "Why don't we do something...fun?"

Jin's eyes brightened and his ears perked up. "Like what?"

"Why don't we play tag?"

The windmaster jumped about ten feet straight up into the air from excitement. Tag was his favorite game to play and Touya almost never indulged im in it. "Are ya sure?"

"Why not?"

Jin grinned and poked his friend with his finger. "You're it." And he took off running through the forest. Touya allowed himself a small smile before taking off after the windmaster, knowing that he was going to win.

**A/n:**

**Whoo-hoo! My eighth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

**Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_**Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	9. A Woman's Heart

Chapter 9

Yukina's Heart

Genkai's Woman

**Third Person POV:**

An older woman with faded pink hair, stood on a balcony looking out at her training room. To look at this woman was to see your typical senior citizen with wrinkles and a surly attitude. But if one really looked, then they would see her erect carriage and her disciplined posture. Needless to say, she was more than your typical 'old woman.' She was Genkai, the martial arts master and perfecter of the spirit wave technique.

Though back to the point. Genkai was staring down at the blue-haired young lady that was bent down scrubbing at her floor. And at this sight, she let a small grin grace her face. That particular young lady was a Godsend. She was sweet, kind, gentle, and eternally patient with everyone. Even those who didn't deserve it. However, Genkai's smile quickly withered back into her normal passive and almost apathetic glare. It would not do to let anyone see her beam like a new mother. It would tarnish her perfect image. Never the less, she climbed unto the banister and jumped, landing nimbly on the balls of her feet. The girl's head flew up from what she was doing and she looked... alarmed. "Master Genkai! Please be careful; you could hurt yourself."

The older woman laughed to herself, wishing that these kids had known her in her younger days when she would have jumped off the top of a building and land without a sound or a scratch. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not dead yet," she replied in a gravelly voice.

"Of course not, but you have to take care of yourself."

"I'm not going to sit around knitting sweaters and scarves all day if that's what you're thinking of." As Yusuke had so eloquently put it the other day. The boy had earned a well, aimed punch to the jaw for his insolence, and it had made the woman feel better.

Yukina laughed in her usual good-natured way. Nothing ever seemed to get her down. Well, nothing except for the lack of results from the search for her brother, but even that only put a frown on her face for a few seconds at the most. "Of course not. I could never think that about you, Master Genkai."

The woman rolled her eyes for about the thousandth time that day. Every time that she thought about those Koorime elders, it made her blood boil. The way they had this girl programmed was just plain wrong. "Drop the 'master' will ya? Makes me feel old." And no one would ever call _**her**_ old. Or rather no one would live to brag about it.

By now, Yukina knew that she was joking, but still felt somewhat guilty. "I'm sorry M— Genkai."

The pink-haired woman nodded encouragingly as a thought occurred to her. "It's Saturday night. You should be out somewhere. Why don't you go find Kuwabara and get out of my hair for a while?"

"Oh no," Yukina gasped. "I couldn't leave you."

Once again, the old woman rolled her brown eyes. It was almost as though those kids thought that she couldn't be left alone. Just the thought was... offensive in so many ways. She may be old, but she was in no way, shape, or form helpless and refused to be treated as such. "Trust me, I can function alone. I've been doing it since before you were born," she chastised, though she sometimes suspected that the girl may just have lived longer. It was hard to tell with demons.. "Just go."

The young ice maiden tried to think of another reason for staying, but found none that would satisfy the old master. And besides, she really did want to go and see her dear friend, Kuwabara. "If you're sure..."

Genkai just responded with a glare that sent the younger girl scurrying out of the door. And as she left, the master allowed a wry grin to grace her face. Ah, those kids. They'd grow up to be something interesting. Too bad she probably wouldn't live long enough to see it. Ah well, as she'd learned, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

**TWO HOURS LATER:**

The door opened slowly, and Yukina shyly slipped inside of the dark room. "Genkai," She called softly, her bare feet making no sound on the wooden floor. "Genkai."

There was no response. And suddenly there was a tap on her left shoulder. "Aaaah," the ice maiden shouted loudly, her arms flinging out and making contact with something solid.

"Ow kid. It's me," the older woman said, turning on the light. And for the thousandth time, she felt her age. Usually, she could have jumped back and dodged that blow without so much as a thought. Though, she told herself that she _**could**_ have jumped back; she just didn't expect Yukina to flail so much. But the young ice maiden did seem to be a bit... off-kilter after she got home from visiting Kuwabara.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, master Genkai," She said worriedly, grabbing the older woman's hand, and checking her over carefully.

"I'm fine. You didn't hit me that hard," She lied wondering how someone so kindly could have such a firm hand. "How was your date?"

The young girl blushed crimson. She was finally beginning to understand human vernacular, and knew exactly what was being implied. "It wasn't a date." At least that's what she told herself, and that's what se would continue to tell herself. So, Kuwabara held her hand in his... that didn't make it a date, did it?

"Whatever you say, kid, but I bet he doesn't agree," She paused. "So, how was it?"

"It was fun. We sat in his room and talked about things." And here she blushed again, leaving the old woman to wonder what they were talking about. Knowing Kuwabara, he was spilling his feelings of love to no avail from the lovely young girl.

"Things like what?" the master probed. As she would readily admit, she was extremely nosy. And that was putting it mildly.

"His homework."

And Master Genkai's eyebrows raised skeptically. It had been a long time, but she still remembered what it had been like when she was young. "Homework? You expect me to believe that all that you talked about for two hours was his homework?" Honestly, the games that these teenagers played. She supposed that they could call it anything that they wanted.

"We did," She protested and her older companion finally began to believe her. After all, the kid didn't lie. Wow... they really _**were**_ slow now a days. "Kazuma's homework was interesting."

"Oh really. What interesting thing are they learning in the school system today? How to color inside of the lines?"

"No," Yukina chuckled. "Kazuma had to write a paper about their thoughts on life. And his was very good."

Genkai rolled her eyes. She knew that Kuwabara was smart, but she also knew that neither him nor the dimwit really applied themselves. They were funny and a dynamic duo, but not up to hard work. It was a part of their easy charm and 'grace', so the thought of their work being more than mediocre was almost unbelievable. "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."

Yukina beamed as she reached into her kimono and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. "He let me borrow it."

Once again, the old woman's brows rose curiously. Hmmm, she carries her dear friend's note right next to her heart. How sweet in a naive sort of way. "Let me see it."

Genkai took the sheet of paper and read over it. After finishing She was ... surprised. It was actually somewhat clever. In fact, he was almost living up to his true potential. A part of her wondered how Yusuke's was. Probably up to his usual standards. Or rather down to..."Surprising," She commented.

"Not if you know him." And only two people know him. Both Yusuke and Yukina. They were the only two who could really get close enough to him. Kuwabara was a man of layers, and it took a special person to unravel them. And goodness knew that the older woman had not the time and patience to do so.

"Genkai. How would you describe life?"

"You don't want to know." Her answer was simple, but her mind was racing a way at at mile a minute.

And the small demon replied, "Oh but I do."

Once again, the older woman chuckled. "Fine. Give me a minute to think and don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Life is like a piece of shit. It's dirty, it's stinks, and it takes up space, on the planet but gets better the closer taht you get to death," the old woman remarked angrily, as though life had some personal vendetta against her. Though, after all of the things that she had been through, perhaps she had the right to feel that way.

"You can't really mean that, master. Everyone has a different concept of life, but I doubt that that one is truly yours."

And of course, the young lady was correct Genkai was not the cold, crusty lady that one would expect. She hid her kindness from those who would misuse it, and from those who needed a push now and then. "Perhaps you're right," She admitted grudgingly.

"I understand that you don't want to say anything sentimental out loud. So, why don't we both write our perceptions of life?"

The woman sighed, but knew that her companion wouldn't give it a rest. The girl was stubborn like her brother, so she nodded in agreement to end this as soon as possible. The ice maiden grinned as she ran off to gather the supplies. She came back about five minutes later with a few sheets of paper and two pens. The girl gave her master one and settled down on the pine floor. Once again, Genkai sighed, but gave into the whims of her young assistant. "Fine. If it'll keep you happy and quiet." She'd never admit it, but she cared much more for the girl's happiness than her silence.

The young girl chuckled. As if she was ever anything other than quiet and reserved. Yet otherwise, she ignored the comment and began writing. Genkai rolled her brown eyes, but also started writing and was done rather quickly. "There finished."

"Me too," the ice demon replied. "Can I read yours now?"

The old woman released her paper and took her assistant's, curious about what the girl really thought about life. After all, She couldn't be quite as naive as She seemed. Though, if anyone could be that innocent, then it would be her.

_Life is like The proverbial heart. It's beautiful, strong, and wholly what one makes it to be. What goes on in a person's heart effects everyone around them. Yet at the same time, everyone's heart is different. Some are filled with darkness, sorrow, and others are filled with joy, happiness, and pleasure._

_ I am a firm believer that no matter what one's heart is filled with it can be rectified. No matter how much evil, blackness, sorrow, or sadness taints the heart, a refreshing spring of love and encouragement can clean off any stain. Meaning that any 'bad life' can be made well again with nothing more than love and understanding. After all, love is the life blood that is pumped by the heart of understanding and distributed through to all living creatures._

Genkai was not surprised. Yukina was a intelligent girl with a very sentimental type of being. In her mind, every problem could be solved with love. And at times, Genkai wished that it was really true. She wished her problems with a certain male had been able to have been solved with love instead of death but it was much too late for that. Much too late.

Meanwhile, Yukina was reading what mater Genkai had written.

_Life is like a beautiful woman. In her youth, she is radiant. Her skin is supple. Her hair is long, thick, and glimmers without her trying. Her eyes are bright and her vision perfect. Her body, curvy and supple with ever part pert and perky. She had nothing but energy and is always ready to go and do any and everything._

_ Everything is easy for her. She slides through life and life's activities as is it's nothing. Everything progresses as it should. She falls in love with a strong man who is as handsome as she is beautiful. Yet all of the while, she never truly stops and realizes that she is going to get older. Not until it actually starts to happen._

_ Her skin loses its elasticity and sags away from her body. Her hair turns white, thins and loses that healthy shine that she used to brag about. Her eyes have dimmed and became filmy without the same spark of excitement that used to be reflected there. Her body is no longer that perfect shape but rather a prison that holds her darkened spirit there._

_ Her energy is gone. Nothing is easy anymore. Each day she struggles with the tenuous hold that she has on control. Eventually, the man that she thought would always love her has left her because she is no longer beautiful. She is old. And she wishes herself away, always hoping and waiting for death's cool embrace and the chance to finally rest. Permanently._

_ Life. It's not easy and it's not for the faint of heart. Not everyone will have a great one. In fact, most people won't, but there's no reason to let it get you down. Remember, it's easy to lose it all, but it's harder to find yourself again. I would know._

Yukina finished reading, and felt tears spring to her eyes. As they exited her tear ducts, they turned into yellow Hiruseki stones which clattered loudly on the pine floor. She couldn't help but cry, because she knew this story and knew that it was so much more than that. It was the true events in Master Genkai's life. The events that turned her from sweet girl to sad woman.

The woman in question turned and gave her a slight smile before walking slowly to her room, where she sat on her pallet. Tears were building up behind her eyes, and she tried her best to keep them down, but the pain was too much for her. Those tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she thought about those dark eyes hidden behind those dark shades. The times when he had held her close and whispered sweet words into her ear. The times when he had kissed her. The time when he had loved her. But those times were gone. Forever.

The tears steadily hit the pine floor as she sat there remembering. "Toguro," She whimpered. "I miss you, dimwit." And with that, she curled onto her side, feeling as though he were somehow with her.

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! My ninth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. **

** I know it seemed kind of OOC, but I always imagine Genkai as being really soft when she's alone with Yukina. **

** Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	10. Eternal Darknesss

Chapter 10

Eternal Darkness

Limbo...

_RECAP:_

_ The woman in question turned and gave her a slight smile before walking slowly to her room, where she sat on her pallet. Tears were building up behind her eyes, and she tried her best to keep them down, but the pain was too much for her. Those tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she thought about those dark eyes hidden behind those dark shades. The times when he had held her close and whispered sweet words into her ear. The times when he had kissed her. The time when he had loved her. But those times were gone. Forever. _

_ The tears steadily hit the pine floor as she sat there remembering. "Toguro," She whimpered. "I miss you, dimwit." And with that, she curled onto her side, feeling as though he were somehow with her._

**Third Person POV:**

Limbo. The most feared place in all of Spirit World. A place of eternal torment. All that one can hear is the sounds of horrible screams of terror as creatures are burned and beaten. Every second of eternity is filled with screams, begging for a death that could not come because its inhabitants were already dead. Limbo. The last place that anyone would ever willingly go. Or rather last place that _**almost**_ anyone would ever go.

In the farthest and deepest bowels of Limbo, sat a man who had chosen this punishment. A man with thick, corded muscles, black shades that covered his eyes and that oozed a sense of true terror. He never screamed. He never cried, though his punishment was painful. He just sat there and endured. The creatures whose job it was to torture him, were running out of ideas. How do you hurt someone so apathetic? Was it even possible? Until, it finally occurred to them to show him what he missed the most about being alive.

So, now he sat above a blue liquid pool, looking down at the people that he had cared about. From the boy that he even thought of as his prodigy to the woman that he had loved.

He couldn't help but think about the woman that he had known. She had been so startlingly beautiful and so startlingly deadly when they had first met. Her curvy yet petite body, so warm under his capable hands. Her smile that had made it all worth while. Her bright eyes that saw everything coupled with that quiet voice that could be so authoritative when it needed to be.

At the time, he had chosen a measure of immortality and strength over her love because he was afraid of withering away. Ironically enough, now he sat staring down into the pool and seeing her wrinkled form and the dulled veneer that once shined so brightly. At that moment, he felt no disgust for her choice. In fact, he almost envied it. Almost wished that he was there beside her as he should have been. That perhaps he should have followed the natural order.

"Life is like eternal darkness. You see nothing in front of you and nothing behind you. Within the entire expanse there is nothing more than brief specks of light that almost last long enough to allow you to see the loaded gun that is right in front of you. The sad part is that you don't even notice how much that small speck means to you until you've passed it by on the way to whatever awaits you at the end of the tunnel. At that ending time, you look back and see the points of light that you had so easily given up and you wish that you could go back and enjoy them this time. Yet, no man, woman, or child may travel back in time or change the past. There are some bits of darkness that you just have to hold on to, and my entire life was one. With the exceptions of those moments with her...Moments that I can never get back..." It was the first time that he had spoken since he had arrived. And his pain was palpable to all of those who suffered alongside him.

He managed to pull himself from the thoughts of death and brought them back to the woman on the bed. She laid there, her tears dripping unto the pillow that was sitting under her face. Toguro couldn't take it any longer. As he looked at her, and he thought about all of the things that he had missed out on. Her love, her devotion, and most importantly, her time. He could have had it all. He could have been strong and fought by her side, yet he had let it all go by for the quest of eternal strength and youth. Now, he could see that it was not worth it. Not in the least.

"Genkai. I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"Toguro," she whimpered and it sounded just like she was standing right next to him. "I miss you, you dimwit." She missed him. After all that he had done to her, she still missed him. He could bear his pain no longer. The large man finally allowed the tears to roll down his cheeks.

He paid no attention to the snickering demons around him. After all, what was the point of playing tough in a place like this? Being tough was what had gotten most of them down here anyway. And he had no wish to mold himself into the image of such weak demons. He had succumb to his suffering and had no care for such childish games.

He continued to watch over her as she went to seep, gently stroking the pool in front of him. "I love you," he muttered. "No matter what, I've always loved you and will continue to for an eternity.."

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! My tenth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. I know it seemed kind of OOC, but maybe it was good?**

** Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	11. The Child and The Lush

**Chapter 11**

**The Child and the Lush**

**A/n:**

**Okay, so I'm trying to imitate Chu's accent in this. I hope it's not too bad, but please don't hate me if it is. Thanks a bunch! Happy reading.**

**Third Person POV:**

"I'm booored," whined a child as he laid back on the forest floor. His black hair, covered by a bright pink and yellow floppy hat and his shirt matching it. To look at him, was to see a child of about ten, He was still a child by even by demon standards, but he was a strong young demon who had been a strong contender in the Dark Tournament. Otherwise known as Rinku.

The tall man sitting next to him, picked at his blue mohawk before swigging from the liquor bottle that was never far from his hands. "Wha ya wanta do about it?" For the most part, Chu was a great adoptive parent for Rinku. He played with him, he took care of him, he listened to the kid, and did everything else that no one else wanted to do with him. Ever since he had found the child, he had taken over the role of father. But there's a point in every parent's life when he or she gets so tired of their kids. Not tired of the kid per say, but tired in general. There are times when they really just want to rest. They really just need a break. Well, after answering questions for an hour and a half, Chu was at that point.

"Let's do something fun," the young boy suggested. He was practically bouncing up and down from barely contained energy. As a child, he was always ready for fun. And as himself, the only one who could keep up with him was his adoptive father. So, he just had to find something for them to do.

"Wha'd ya have in mind, mate?" He may have been tired, but Chu could never ignore the tyke.

The boy stopped and thought for a moment. What exactly could they do? "Why don't we play tag like Jin and Touya did earlier?"

The older man smirked to himself, and wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. "I don' think ya'd want to play _**that **_kind of tag. I sure wouldn't..." After all _**that **_kind of tag had ended in a type of game that this kid should never know how to play. Or at least not at his age.

"Aww. What about the other game that they played with words?" No, Rinku didn't really want to play a word game, but he needed to do something and he knew that doing that would get Chu started on something else. After all, the older man's attention span was probably even shorter than the kid's.

"Wha game's that?" the large man rumbled, taking yet another swig of his bottle of sake. The gentle burn, so light that it was hardly worth the effort anymore. To be honest, most liquor didn't really have an effect anymore. He should probably just quit. Though, anyone who said that to the 'gentle' giant would be wishing that they had done otherwise.

"C'mon, you big lug. I'll start." the kid rolled his eyes. Honestly, everyone knew that he was stone cold sober, but nooo. He just had to always pretend that he was ripped off of his ass. The kid didn't know why he even stayed around. Oh wait, it was to protect the guy. People all thought that Chu took care of him. Ha, it was more like the other way around. If he wasn't there then the big lug wouldn't know what to do with himself.

"If you insist," he burped loudly, causing a few leaves to wither automatically from the smell of his disgusting, liquor-saturated breath. The breath that bothered everyone except Rinku and the giant himself. After all, you get used to it afer a while.

"Hmmm," Rinku stopped to think. How exactly did he think of life? He was around ten. Did he even know yet? And then it came to him.

_"Life is like a yo-yo. It's pretty and often misunderstood. But most importantly a yo-yo's what you make of it. To some people it's nothing more than a stupid child's toy. And it's those people who are stupid. With the right influence, it can be anything. Even a weapon._

_Yo-yo's. They're all in the power of the person who is handling them. We're all in the power of our morals and limitations. Yet like the yo-yo, we're ruled by this. Yo-yo's. Loop your fingers through the string and let it fall. Walk the dog, around the world, rob the cradle, pull it up, wind it around, and do it all again. Now, go and control your life like you control this toy. Not as easy..." _The boy finished, apparently proud of himself. After all, his idea had been well articualted and actually made sense.

"Ah. Coulda done better meself," Chu chuckled. And here began the game that the young boy had been expecting. It was time to offer the man a challenge.

"Oh please. _**You're**_ so drunk you probably don't even remember your own name." Surprisingly, Chu had never even gotten to that point before. He did have a very high alcohol tolerance.

"A course I do. It's Chu, ain't it?"

Rinku laughed to himself, knowing that this was about to get so much more fun from one stupid word game. "C'mon big guy. Tell me your opinion of life."

Chu grinned sloppily before beginning to speak."Well ya see.. ya have the birds an the bees..."

"Stop!" The child yelled. He had a vague idea of where this conversation might be going and he had no desire to carry it on any further. Not now at least. "Not _**that**_ conversation."

"Alright mate," he grinned. The man may have seemed completely wasted, but in reality he was fairly cognizant of all that was going on around him, and knew exactly what he was supposed to be doing. No, it was just the fun of teasing the boy that had him acting so inebriated. "Ere we go."

_"Life is like a bottle of sake. When ya' open it up, ya never know what you're goin' to get, mate. Sometime it's got a good, strong burn, and others it's jus like drinkin' water. Sometimes you really get yer socks knocked off and sometimes yer left underwhelmed._

_ Every bottle has a different flavor. Some light and others musky Some fruity and others plain. The great thing is by the time ya get to the end of the bottle, ya don't even care anymore as long as the high was worthwhile. And after ya swallow the last drop, ya jus' sit there happy ta' have had any at all."_

It was surprising to see how well it really was. The boy rolled his eyes. "Yes, that was soo much better Chu."

"Aye. It was," he whined angrily. "I'll have ya know that tha was art."

"Yeah. Like a stick man's art.." And that leads back to an argument that they had had a few months ago. One that had never been solved, and probably never would be.

"It is when _**I**_ draw it," he pouted huffily.

"Yeah right."

"Grr," the man growled, launching himself at the small boy, but making sure not to accidentally crush him. Sure, the kid sometimes wore him out, but at the end of the day he loved the little tyke. His little tyke.

And this was the game that Rinku had been waiting for, a tussle with his dad... The two wrestled aggressively. All the while, Chu was being careful so that he would not actually hurt his young ward. Rinku, on the other hand, was punching and kicking as hard as he possibly could. Though, he knew that none of his blows were really hurting the mountain of a man. The only thing that he had ever seen hurt him was Yusuke Urameshi's fists, and that would hurt anyone no matter how large.

After ten or fifteen more minutes of intense wrestling, the boy got tired and was forced to stop. Chu could have kept going for a few more rounds, but chose to seem tired for the benefit of the kid's pride. No, it's never good to lie to your kids, but this was different. It was just something to make him a little more confident. And what parent doesn't want a proud, confident, happy child? "Well, ya beat me mate."

"I told you so..." he panted, grinning smugly to himself. "I told you I'd win."

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! My eleventh Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. I know it seemed kind of OOC, but maybe it was good?**

** Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	12. Seaman's Monster

Chapter 12

Sea-man's Monster

**Third Person POV:**

It was a typical day in the life of Miyoshi Mitari. The kids at school had caused four new bruises,two of which were on his face and of course none of his teachers had done anything about it. They never did, because those other students were the atheletes, the popular kids. Mr. Sensui was right. People were bad. They did need to be destroyed.

But until then, he was stuck in the deluge of sorrow that came from his life. He entered his house, and as usual his mother had gone and his father was nowhere to be found. The boy sighed, going up to his room to try to work on his homework.

There was a part of him that couldn't care less about his classes or his life for that matter. What was the point when every person was only dark and evil?

On the other hand, there was another part of him that wanted nothing more than to be normal. He wanted to go to school and not be thought of as 'the loser', but he knew that his wishes were too great to ever be granted. Besides, wishes never really come true anyway.

He sighed as he sat at the small desk that took up a corner of his room. He pulled his list of assignments out of his bag and began working on his math, history, chemistry. It all just served to pass the time. Finally, he only had one assignment left from his Literature and Composition class. It simply read: "What is your perception of life? Describe why you feel this way."

Mitari felt like laughing. Life? What did he think of life? Well, he would tell them, and it wouldn't be pretty. The boy sat there writing. It took him all of ten minutes to finish. As he put it up, he grinned thinking of what his teacher would think when he read it.

But soon enough, that feeling of savagery abated to leave only an empty, hollow feeling. Perhaps, it was hunger he thought going into the kitchen and fixing a dinner for one. He sat in the dim evening glow, eating. The warm food did nothing to heat the cool chill that inhabited his body.

As he sat alone at his table, watching the sun sink below the horizon, he realized that the gnawing he felt wasn't hunger at all. It was loneliness. It was fear. It was sorrow. He had no control over the latter two, but the former...

He stood up, going into the bathroom and making sure that the door was firmly shut behind him. Miyoshi glanced around nervously as he ran a tub full of water. The next thing he did was reach into the small crevice behind the sink to pull out a sharp and shiny razor blade. The blade glinted malevolently in the dim light of the room. To most it looked dangerous or frightening, but to Mitari, it was an escape from the pain. He took the blade and sliced it across his wrist. "Ahh," he exhaled deeply. The pain was sharp, but quickly relieved by the dribble of the warm, scarlet liquid that was pouring from his arm. He let said blood drip into the water before activating his territory.

He felt the familiar tug in his stomach as the room changed. Said change was imperceptible to anyone else, but it _**had**_ occurred. As soon as he was done, one of his monsters took form, sitting next to the boy. "Why me?" the boy moaned. "Why is my life so awful?" and so he talked for hours to the monster. It could not speak back, but it was a body to take up space and it was enough to keep him company and stave off the gnawing of loneliness.

He fell asleep, talking to the monster and when he woke up, he was curled up on the bathroom floor in a puddle of water. Sea man sighed. He had lived another night. Was it worth it? Did it even matter? With those thoughts, he stumbled to his feet and went through his morning routine. Within half an hour, he was ready to go. The boy sighed as he left his empty house.

The walk to school was uneventful. Of course, that was why he left so early. The bullies were still in their beds dreaming of how they would torment him for the rest of the day. But until then, he had the school to himself. Unfortunately, he had left a little too early this morning, and the library was still locked. He sighed, not wanting to just stand there, so he meandered down the hall to the only teacher that would be there that early. As predicted, his Literature and Composition teacher's door was open.

Mitari knocked gently on the heavy wooden frame. "Come in," came the genial voice of Mr. Hagarashi. When Mitari entered, the teacher looked up from his papers and grinned. "Hello, Mitari. You are early this morning, aren't you?"

That was one thing about Mr. Hagarashi. He was so young himself that he hadn't gotten bored with teaching yet, so he was always nice when he saw one of his students. "Yes sir."

"Have a seat. Relax until class starts," he advised.

The boy nodded his curly head, taking the seat that was the farthest from the teacher. He took out his novel and got lost in the pages. So lost that he forgot that he was in a classroom at all. Until someone called out to him. "Mitari, do you have your assignment?"

"Y-y-yes sir," he stammered, pulling it out of his perfectly organized bag. He approached the desk, handing it over.

Mitari had gotten so comfortable that he had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. As Hagarashi took the paper, he saw the red line of a new scar on Mitari's wrist. It sent a flash of pain through him as he remembered his own days of sliding a blade into his wrists in the hope that things would get better. In the hopes of feeling anything at all. "Would you mind standing here?" the teacher asked softly. "I can grade it now."

"I'll wait sir," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.

The teacher took the paper and read it:

_Life is hard and awful. Life is like a monster._

_ The monster is horrendous. His face is large and distorted past the point of recognition. His eyes are the reason that people fear the darkness. After all, who would want to see those scarlet, slitted orbs leering at them from the shadows?_

_ Yet, it is the mouth that is the most terrifying. The huge open maw that reeks of sewage, filth, blood, and death. The lusting tongue that years for nothing more than to taste the sweet meat that you will provide. The black teeth that are glinting dully in the light. The jagged teeth made for the sole purpose of rending your flesh from your bones. _

_ And there you are, the human being stuck in between the slimy hands of a monster called Fate. He holds you closely to his chest, bringing you up to his open mouth. The stench of your coming death permeates the airs. It burns your eyes and nose. You try to inhale with your mouth, but now you can taste his exhalation. It tastes like death. You can see the jagged teeth. And tears fill your eyes as you realize that this is the last thing you'll ever see. That this is the last thing that you will ever smell. That this is the end._

_ The monster devours you, leaving nothing behind. You no longer exist, and for the good you did you may as well have never existed. That's life. The constant fear, knowing that nothing that you do will matter. Everything is temporary. The only assurances are that people will suffer and things will end._

Hagarashi looked down at the paper. It was excellently written, but the concept in general was depressing to say the least. He was a teen. His outlook should still be optimistic. Yet here he was. On the outside was the calm, easily frightened boy, but on the inside was someone who was dark and depressed. Someone who was crying for help.

Very good," he commented handing the paper back to its owner with a large 'A+' on the front.

Mitari glanced down at the score, but felt no joy from it. He sighed, turning to go back to his seat, but was stopped by the teacher. "Mitari, wait."

He gently took the boy's arm, exposing the scar. He rubbed his finger over it gently. "I know this hurts." He looked up into Mitari's face and saw the shadows of bruises. Someone had been hitting him, and Hagarashi was sure that he knew who it was. Mitari was so quiet and easy to take advantage of. The older and meaner boys who loved to bully the quiet ones like him. They did this, and Hagarashi could do nothing. As a teacher, he had no power to say anything until Mitari himself came and admitted that he had been bullied. Unfortunately, that would not happen. The boy was too stubborn.

"I know it hurts. Everything seems to knock you down." And the first bell rang. Students would begin filing in any minute, so he had to worry. "I know that life's not fair and you're suffering but don't do anything hasty. Things will get better. I believe in you, Miyoshi Mitari. I have faith in you. I'm proud of you. I believe that _**you**_ are going to change the world."

Hagarashi let go of the boy's arm just as the others began to enter the room. Mitari went and sat back down in his seat.

Change the world? Yes, he planned on changing the world. He planned on changing it by eradicating every human being. By ending the evil, the hatred, and those who would dare to hurt him. The one contribution that could change his world. How proud would they all be then?

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! Merry Christmas, guys! I hope you guys have a very blessed holiday, and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!**

** My twelfth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. I know it seemed kind of OOC, but maybe it was good?**

** Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	13. The Game Master's Game

Chapter 13

The Game Master's Game

Tshkito Amanuma

**Third Person POV:**

"Tshikito, get off of that game and do your homework," called a tall, thin, blond man from the kitchen.

Tshkito Amanuma, the Game Master, glared at his father's head. Honestly, he was on the last level of 'A Hero's Quest'. All he had to do was kill the Goblin King, and he would have beaten it for the twenty-seventh time. But noooo, he just had to do his homework right now. As if that would get him anywhere in life. Besides, what good was homework if demons were going to take over the world and kill everyone? "Soon dad."

"No," he commanded. "Now." Ugh, he was never even there. Trust the one time that he was at home, the old guy had to ruin the fun.

"Fine," the blond boy paused the game and opened his school books reluctantly. School. . He had no friends, and none of his teachers understood him. He hated that place, and all of the people there. If only he could just leave it all behind, and show them that they weren't as special as they thought.

But grumbling wasn't going to change his current predicament. He sighed loudly enough for his father to hear before pulling out his school satchel. His groan worsened as he saw his assignment.

"You'd better be working," the man warned, his voice full of a barely concealed threat.

Honestly, he was a child. Children should have fun and not just work. He decided not to respond. After all, the sooner he was done with his homework, the sooner he could go back to gaming.

The boy took out his pen and paper, writing quickly. Within ten minutes he was back to what he loved the most, his video game.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Amanuma came out to see how his son was progressing. Not surprisingly, the boy was glued to his game system. The man sighed, at times he regretted ever purchasing it in the first place. He had done so only to attract some friends for the boy, but instead it had become an addiction. At times like this, he blamed himself.

He sighed. "I told you to do your homework," he said, in his sternest voice.

"I already did," the Game Master responded, not even turning around. He inclined his head towards the coffee table that was beside him. "There it is."

He was suspicious as any father would be. Homework should have taken much longer like it had in his day. He picked the paper up and read:

_Life is like a game. Everyone plays at least once or twice. Some hang onto it as tightly as possible. Some people win every time, and others always lose. Some people work their hardest to try to win, but it takes a certain aptitude to, and they find that they don't live up to the challenge._

_ Win or lose, it doesn't really matter after a while. Unlike in a game, you don't have an extra life. You fall, you die and that's it..._

The man looked down at his son. The boy was ten years old. Ten. At age ten, he should have been playing with friends and being happy instead of this. No, ten year olds should even think about misery or death. "Son..." he said again.

The Game Master heard a difference in his father's voice this time. It was not angry, but ... worried. Something the boy had never heard before. Something that made him turn away from his game. "What is it dad?" he asked.

"This is perfect. I'm sure you'll get an A," he smiled, gently ruffing the boy's hair. The boy felt the glow of pride inside of his stomach. He had finally done something right. Maybe he wasn't such a screw up after all. Maybe he could actually make his father proud one day. "So, what are you playing?"

"A Hero's Quest," he replied. "Do.. do you want to play?" The boy had already prepared himself for a resounding 'no' and a lecture about how gaming accomplished nothing at all, but was pleasantly surprised by the answer that he got instead.

"Sure." The man sat down next to his son. He had no idea what he was doing, and didn't seem to care. All that mattered in that moment was making sure that his son had some time to be a child. So, what if he didn't have friends, at the very least he would have his father. And maybe, just maybe that would be enough.

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! My thirteenth chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. I know it seemed kind of OOC, but maybe it was good? Only about three chapters and an epilouge left. Yay! Just stick with me until then. Thanks. Love you guys.**

** Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


	14. The Doctor's Surgery

Chapter 14

The Doctor's Surgery

Minora Kamiya

**Third Person POV:**

A hospital. The starch, white environment. The clean antiseptic smell. The sick people who all seem to be either coughing or bleeding. For most people, this was the last place that they ever wanted to go. But for Minora Kamiya, it was his home. It was comfortable, normal. It was his second home.

As a surgeon, he spent his days surrounded by disease, blood and death. Things like that tended to sour a person after a while, and he was no exception. He had cut into women, he had seen teens dead on the table. When he had first gotten the job he had been so proud of saving lives, but now...now he just didn't know.

Though there was a bright side. He actually got to spend some time with a few of his favorite patients. This thought caused him to smile as he entered his patient's room.

Tsuyoshi Hara. The boy was sick and in desperate need of a new liver. Without it, he would die and die soon. Yet that didn't affect his mood. He was still just a happy-go-lucky kid. "Doctor Kamiya," he grinned like he had just won the lottery, his brown eyes shining brightly in his head.

"Tsuyoshi. Nice to see you again." The boy struggled to sit up, and managed to do so gasping from the pain in his abdomen. As the doctor looked around, he saw the boy's school bag on the bed. "Doing your homework, I see."

"Yes sir. Mom doesn't want me to be behind when I get to go back to school."

The doctor sighed. The boy's mother, Akira was so kind and gentle. So intelligent. Yet at the same time she was determined that her only child would live. She refused to even consider anything else. Like now, she was talking about him going back to school, and deep down they all knew that the chances of that happening were slim to none.

The doctor knew better, but even he could not stop himself from encouraging the boy. As he had learned, there was nothing worse than destroying a child's dreams. "She's right, you know. You have to stay sharp."

"Yes sir," she smiled. "I'm almost done."

"That's very good."

The boy looked at the man that stood over him. He could see a trace of sadness in his eyes, and he hated that he had put it there. "I'm dying," he said clearly. There was no denying it. They all knew it, and he didn't want to hurt anyone. It was better to make sure that they all knew it. "I...I know I am. Tell my mom that I love her and not to worry about me. Thank you Doctor."

Kamiya was speechless. What could he say to the child? What should he say? Lying was wrong, yet putting the fear of death into a child was equally wrong. So, he said the only thing that he could. "I'll tell her. But you don't give up hope."

"Miracles happen everyday," Tsuyoshi said, his voice chipper. He really believed that. He had to. How else could he keep the smile on his face?

But as a doctor, Kamiya knew the odds of that miracle happening. "You're right." He really hated to leave, but he did have other patients that he had to check up on. Yet some gnawing feeling inside of him wouldn't allow him to walk away.

"You have to go, Doctor Kamiya," he chastised gently. "Take care."

He smiled, reaching down to ruffle the boy's brown hair. "You too. I'll see you after my shift."

The child smiled wearily, his eyes drooping from exhaustion. This boy, the one who made his day bearable. The one who he had come to really admire. He smiled as he gently closed the door behind him.

The rest of his day sped by as he did his job, saving people. He went home that night. When he finally fell asleep his dreams were fitful and kept him tossing and turning. But when he woke up he found that he could not remember any details. This was strange for him. That and the feelings of frustration and fear got him moving and dressed quickly as he made his way to work slightly earlier than he actually needed to.

When he finally arrived at the hospital, he headed straight for Tsuyoshi's room. "Doctor Kamiya," a nurse called intercepting him before he could go inside.

"What is it, nurse?" he asked, feeling his stomach clench tightly. Nurses never spoke to him before he visited a patient. It was a sort of unspoken rule that he had developed over the years. One that had never been broken before.

"We tried to call you," she defended herself. "But it was late and you didn't answer the phone."

The pressure was almost unbelievable. "What is it nurse?" he demanded much more aggressively than he usually would have.

"Little Tsuyoshi. He... he passed away in his sleep."

The doctor felt his heart freeze in his chest. Tsuyoshi. Dead? It couldn't be. He must have misheard that. "W..w..what?"

"He died," she said simply. It was time to tell him the truth. "He's gone."

He didn't know what to say or how to say it. He gently pushed the nurse out of the way. There, the boy laid, his eyes closed and hair tousled. If he had been breathing, he could be sleeping.

Kamiya approached the boy warily, touching his cold, hard forehead. The cheerful child really was dead. He sighed, knowing that there was nothing that he could do now. As he was leaving, he saw a sheet of paper on the bedside table.

He picked it up, recognizing the child's handwriting. Obviously, it was the homework that he had been doing the day before. The doctor couldn't help but read what must have been the boy's final written words.

_Life is like a rainbow. It comes in different colors and shapes. And it makes people smile to see. I guess that's one thing that life's taught me. Everybody needs to smile and everybody needs to see a rainbow as much as possible, because things are never as bad as they seem._

Kamiya smiled sadly to himself. The child had been a refreshing change to normality. He had been a happy, friendly kid but now he was gone forever.

"Let me see him!" demanded the angry voice of a woman in the hall. He sighed, stroking the boys hair for the last time as he exited the room.

There she was. Akira Hara, Tsuyoshi's mother. On any other day, people might have said that she was beautiful. Her curly light brown hair, her huge blue eyes, her infectious smile. But today her hair was matted as if she had just crawled out of bed. Her eyes were red rimmed, brimming with tears and the smile was replaced by a pair of trembling lips. "Let me see him!" she repeated.

The nurse from earlier was standing there, trying to keep her out of the room. "Nurse!" he called sharply. "Back to your station please." Though no please was implied by his unusually sharp tone.

She nodded, bowing slightly before scurrying away. She had never seen the calm doctor so... agitated, and it scared her to see him like this now.

"Mrs. Hara. I'm so sorry," he said and for the first time in a long time, he actually meant what he was saying.

Those blue eyes looked up at him with a fire that seemed at odds with her petite figure. "What happened to my son?" she demanded.

"He...he died last night. I wasn't here. I'm sorry," he repeated.

The woman dissolved into tears. This last confirmation was enough to send her over the edge. If he said it, then it must really be true. The doctor could not stand to see her cry. It was highly inappropriate, but he wrapped his arms about her tightly in an attempt to calm her down. "Shhh," he soothed. "It's okay."

She looked up at him, her eyes screaming that it was not okay. "You let him die!" she screamed. "I hate you! I hate you!" And she punctuated every sentence with a blow to his chest. Her fists may have been small, but they hurt. Though not nearly as much as her accusations.

There had been nothing that he could do. He was helpless in this situation. Yet maybe he did deserve all that was coming to him. "Shh," he continued, patting her back. After a while, she relaxed into his warm embrace, enjoying the contact of another human being, but knowing that without her son there would be no more of that.

"I...I..I want to see him."

He didn't even stop to consider it. "Of course." He led her into the room.

The woman released him and ran to her son's bedside. She ran her hands through his hair, kissed his cheeks, and threw herself around his body. "I wasn't here. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Her throat was full of repressed emotion. She couldn't help but feel that this was her fault. No mother should ever out live her child, and she hadn't even been there with him when he had needed her the most. If she hadn't 'needed sleep' then she would have been here. She looked up to the doctor who had cared so much for her son. "I should have been here," she muttered.

He stood beside her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You couldn't have been. And no matter what, he still would have passed on. Just think, now he's in a better place."

She thought for a second; she had always been a firm believer in something after this life. Yet it was different when it was her son. He would have been happier here, and she knew it. It was selfish, she still wanted to have her son here with her. "You really think so?"

"I know so," he assured her. "Last night he asked me to tell you something."

"What?" she demanded, the hope evident in her voice. "What did he say?"

"He told me to tell you that he loves you and that you shouldn't worry about him."

This brought a watery smile to the woman's face. It gave her something to believe in. Something to save her from insanity. "That sounds like him," she commented. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like a moment alone with my son."

Kamiya nodded, leaving her alone. Ever since he had heard about he child, he had had a question. There, at the nurses' station sat the woman from earlier. "Nurse!" he beckoned to her. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She nodded, seeming a bit shaken. "Yes Doctor Kamiya. What can I do for you?"

He sighed. "What happened to little Tsuyoshi Hara? The patient in room 414? He was at the top of the transfer list."

"He wasn't doing well last night. We think that he was sick for a few days, but by the time we figured it out, it was too late."

"And the transfer?"

She glanced around warily, in case someone may have been listening to her. "You didn't hear this from me, but he was bumped down."

The doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could such a sick child be bumped? "By who? How?"

"Word at the nurses' desk is that Kira Mori, the head of the foundation needed one. And since without him there is no foundation, he got put in front of the kid."

Kira Mori. He had heard of the man before. He owned more than any man should. The hospital, the organ foundation, schools, local businesses. And all of those things only fed his own greed. "Thank you." the doctor nodded, walking away with a sense of numbness.

As a surgeon, he had seen death time and time again. After a while, it even stopped having the same effect. But this... this was different. Not only was he a child, but he was innocent. The boy had been light and strength in a dark and weak world. He suffered so much, but still cared more for others than himself. In the end, he put his mother first. Never in his time in medicine had he had the honor of encountering such a boy, and he probably would never be so lucky again.

The next thought that he had was for that man. Kira Mori. His greed stole the life of a boy who had so much more to offer the world. Tsuyoshi died not of sickness, but from the disease of greed. Never had the doctor felt such a disgust for the people whole would allow such a thing to happen. Usually, he was kindly and mild-mannered, but he could never be that person again. No, if humanity was so evil then what was the purpose of trying to be good?

That night when Kamiya left his office, he didn't head straight home. Instead, he made a detour to watch the sun set. As he stood, he couldn't help but think of the little Hara boy's paper. Life is like a rainbow, yeah right. He chuckled dryly to himself thinking:

_Life is like surgery. You start out with the hope that you can improve things, that you can save someone. Yet as you get deeper and deeper inside the person you can see that either you really can help or you really can't._

_ If you can save them then things are worth it and life goes on in a normal, happy way. But if you can't, then you ask yourself: what's the point? It's as if for that second in time, you are intertwined with the person lying on the table .The person that you cannot help. _

_ When they die... a part of you dies with them ,and no matter how callous you are, you can never regain that piece. It's gone. Forever._

_ A man is made up of millions of pieces, but moments in our lives start to slowly chip them away, and finally there's only a tiny piece left where your heart should be. And with the death of the innocent, that last piece had also fallen away, leaving nothing behind._

The surgeon sighed. Sulking was getting him nowhere. Not anymore anyway. He turned to go home, but was confronted by the sight of two men.

The first was a slightly muscular man. His bright blue hair and a serene smile that made him seem almost out of place here.

Standing in front of him was a tall, very muscular man. His dark hair and dark eyes were evoking a sense of both apathy and malice at the same time. He emitted so much power and so much anger that it was almost impossible to even look at him. "Sad what happened at the hospital, isn't it?" the dark man asked. "A young life cut short by greed."

Kamiya felt a sharp jab in his stomach. A part of it was grief, but another was anger. What right did he have to approach him like this? How did he even know this? "Who are you?"

"Oh forgive me," he man chuckled. "My name is Sensui, and this is Mr. Atsuki." the blue haired man waved slightly before turning his sights back on the man who was obviously his leader. And possibly his lover.

"What do you want?" The doctor was in no mood to play games. Not right now.

"You're angry about the boy and you're discontent with humanity right now." It was surreal. Sensui was spouting out his emotions as though he could read every thought in the doctor's head. "You don't know who's right or wrong. And more importantly, you don't know who to trust."

"How do you know all of this?" It was like he knew the man more than Kamiya knew himself.

"I know you, Doctor Kamiya," he smiled. "I know what you want and I have it." He pulled a cassette tape out of his pants pocket. "This is the answer to all of your questions abut humanity. Everything that you desire to know. Just follow me and and you can see it all..." He turned and walked away, not even turning to see if he was being followed.

The doctor hesitated for half of a second before following the man. After all, he could always leave, couldn't he?

**One Month Later:**

Doctor Kamiya sat in his office and contemplated what he now knew. Humans. They were dark and evil. Only greed and a lust for blood animated them all. And soon each of the greedy devils would be eradicated. He would make sure of that. He would do it for Tsuyoshi. All of this would be for Tsuyoshi...

**A/n:**

** Whoo-hoo! My fourteenth chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it. I know it seemed kind of OOC, but maybe it was good? Only about two chapters and an epilogue left. Yay! Just stick with me until then. Thanks. Love you guys.**

** Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .**

_** Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!**_

**Yours truly, madly, and deeply,**

**Einstinette**


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